Alternate Reality
by writerchic16
Summary: The Russos are transported to a different reality, where the Waverly Sub Station is a magic shop owned by their alternate selves.
1. Chapter 1

**Alternate Reality**

Summary: The Russos are transported to a different reality, where the Waverly Sub Station is a magic shop...owned by their alternate selves.

A/N: When Todd J. Greenwald first came up with Wizards of Waverly Place, he called it The Amazing Hannigans. Through the power of ebay, I got a copy of the original pilot he wrote. The show was VERY different, so I decided to write a story based on that original script. Really, it was practically a whole other show. Some of it will be my fabrication, but I will try to stick to the characters and situation I could grasp from the script.

With that, please enjoy my little sort-of crossover experiment.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Her arms crossed on the desk, Alex barely kept herself from falling asleep while her father talked. Though she'd never say it aloud, she was jealous of Justin for finishing magic training when she still had a _long_ way to go. Magic class wasn't nearly as bearable now that he wasn't a student with them any more. Instead, he'd appointed himself the position of teacher's assistant. This consisted of him casting spells as demonstration, and annoyingly enough, catching his siblings every time their eyes closed.

Which he was about to do if she didn't wake herself up. As his mouth opened to call her out, she snapped her eyes wide open and said, "I'm up!" She then smirked. "Hah, beat you to it."

"Alex, pay attention," Jerry said, and gave her a warning look. His gaze shifted to his youngest son, who was about to fall off the side of the desk in his sleep. "You too, Max."

"Huh?" He straightened himself up and looked around in confusion. When he saw his father staring at him, he sputtered, "Uh…forty-two?"

Jerry gave him an exasperated look. "I wasn't asking a question."

"Oh." He shrugged. "One of these days, the answer has to be forty-two."

Irritated, Jerry said, "All right you two, let's recap. What have I been talking about this whole lesson?"

Alex shared a bewildered glance with her equally confused younger brother. "That's an excellent question, Dad. So I'm going to do what I usually do when I don't know the answer to an excellent question." She then leaned over and looked at the person sitting on the couch. "Harper?"

With a reluctant sigh, Harper said, "Spells that alter surface texture. Can I go now?"

"Come on Harper, you always say how you want to be more like a Russo. And Russo kids attend magic class," Alex insisted. Harper had made it her mission to become a full Russo the second she moved in. Bored with class, she'd used the excuse to convince Harper to sit in. Alex wasn't sure what that would do, but she figured that having her best friend there had to automatically make the situation more tolerable.

However, it seemed that Harper wouldn't buy the excuse for long. "Alex, I'm all for learning new things, but…magic kind of freaks me out, in case you haven't noticed."

"But we haven't even done anything yet. Dad's just been going on and on and on…" Alex trailed off when she noticed her father getting angrier. "Well, it's true."

Jerry stepped aside and gestured toward the area in front of the desk. "If you're so eager, why don't you cast the spell I mentioned before you woke yourself up? If you can remember it, that is."

Put on the spot, Alex froze. Justin now wore a smirk of his own. "What's the matter, Alex? Stage fright?" he teased.

"You're supposed to be the teacher's _assistant_. Teasing me isn't 'assisting' anyone," Alex retorted as she came around the desk. She stood there unsure for a good half a minute before she gave her best friend a desperate glance. "Harper?"

"'Slip, slip, slip…'" Harper said as a hint.

"Oh, right." The spell came to her in an instant. She must have heard it on her way to dreamland. Alex smiled as she took out her wand…then smiled wider when she discreetly noticed that Justin was standing on an area rug. "'Slip, slip, slip and slide, stand on this rug, you'll go for a ride.'"

Before Justin could notice, she pointed her wand towards it. The rug turned slick in a second, and Justin yelped with fright as he frantically grabbed on to the bookcase behind him. "_Alex_!" he shouted while he tried to keep from falling on the floor.

Unable to help themselves, Alex and Max burst out laughing. Even Harper was having a hard time maintaining a straight face.

Jerry glared at her. "Not funny, Alex. Reverse it _now_."

"Fine," she grumbled as she waved her wand…and paused. "Wait, now how did that spell go again?"

His grip tight on the bookcase shelf, Justin sputtered, "A-Are you kidding me, Alex? 'Before my brother…'"

"Oh yes, that is it," Alex said as she slowly pointed her wand again. "Before my brother and the floor collide, toughen that rug, end the ride."

The rug's abrupt return to normal made Justin lose his balance, though his grip on the bookcase prevented him from falling over. "I could have _fallen_," he spat at her. "And _gotten hurt_! Bet you wouldn't be laughing as hard then!"

"You're right. I'd be laughing harder," Alex said with a chuckle. She couldn't help it – Justin's fury was hilarious.

Jerry held out his hands between them. "That's _enough_. Justin is right, Alex. I know you were joking around, but he really could've been hurt."

At his insistent look, Alex muttered, "Fine. Sorry, Justin."

About to retort, Justin was cut off when Theresa walked into the room. She glanced around, then looked at Harper. "There you are! What are you doing in here, Harper? I need help with customers!"

"Sorry, Mrs. Russo! I'm on it!" Harper exclaimed as she happily went back to work.

When she was gone, Theresa turned back to her family. "Okay, so what did Alex do…"

She trailed off when a substance that looked like thick brown goop oozed into the lair under the door to the wizard world. Max jumped off his seat, and Alex backed up. Even Justin was alarmed and bewildered. "Dad…what _is_ that?"

"Mr. Teacher's Assistant doesn't know? Color me shocked," Alex deadpanned.

Fortunately for her, Jerry was too distracted by their problem to notice his daughter's attitude. "Uh oh…" he said, his eyes wide as he stared at the goop. Instead of oozing further into the room, it disappeared into the floor.

"Well, whatever it is disappeared. That's good, right?" Max asked.

Jerry shook his head. "The opposite, actually. They're wizard world termites. They band together and form that goop to infest magical households."

"'Infest'? Jerry, what's this thing going to do to us?" Theresa demanded.

"Not us, the building. Like termites, they're going to get into the building's frame. But instead of weakening the structure, they alter it," Jerry explained.

"Alter…how? Like the spell we just learned?" Alex asked. "That's not so bad…"

Jerry sighed. "I wish. Their magical properties cause the building to become enchanted, which means _anything_ can happen to it. Black holes, time portals, doors to alternate realities...we should probably move out for the next day or so. That's usually how long it takes for them to run their course and go back to the wizard world."

"Good idea. We can stay with my mother," Theresa said.

"Or at a hotel," Jerry said. At his wife's narrowed eyes, he added, "Just a suggestion." He then turned to Alex and Justin. "Before we do anything else, though, you two need to block the door. Wizard world termites tend to come in swarms."

"What spell do we use?" Alex asked, her wand held at the ready.

After a second of thought, Justin snapped his fingers. "How about that spell you and Stevie used? The one that made that plastic wall?"

"Right," Alex agreed. They each made a fist, which they pressed against the other's and with their free hands, pointed their wands at the portal door. In front of it, a wall of colorful, plastic bricks instantly appeared.

"Good job you two. That ought to do it," Jerry said. "Let's get out of…"

Before he could finish his sentence, the lights flickered between normal and the same brown as the goop. Then a low rumble sounded, and sure enough, the building shook as if enduring an earthquake. The Russos ran to and held on to each other as loose knickknacks began flying off shelves. Alex shrieked and clung on to her family as tight as she could.

After what seemed like an hour, but could only have been less than five minutes, it all stopped. "Is everyone okay?" Jerry asked as they broke apart. "Anyone hurt?" When they all indicated that they weren't, he headed for the door. "Come on, I'm sure there's chaos out there. Maybe we can tell customers there was a small explosion…"

The first one to the door, Theresa called, "Uh, Jerry? I don't think we have to worry about customers."

"What?" Jerry sighed. "Did Harper scare them off again?" The brunette's severely lacking waitress skills tended to have that effect on patrons.

But instead of a reply, Theresa numbly came back in from the entryway, all traces of color drained from her face. Panicked, the rest of the Russos ran to see the damage.

Alex and Justin were the first to peek into the Sub Station kitchen…or, what used to be the Sub Station kitchen. The dividing wall had vanished, and the counter with the register had been pushed back against the wall where there used to be a sink attached. The Sub Station itself had been instantly transformed into a colorful magic shop, filled to the brim with rack after rack of cliché magic show props. The merchandise abruptly stopped at a bunch round tables covered in black table cloths, paired with dark, comfy chairs. These faced a small stage, which took the place of the missing subway car. Instead of the subway motif, the shop walls were now exposed brick, and above the counter was a sign that read "Hannigan Magic EST. 1907."

As the shell-shocked Russos made their way into strange place, Alex managed to remark, "Guys, I don't think we're in the Sub Station anymore." At the others' looks, she explained, "Well, someone had to say it."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Too stunned to say much, the Russos wandered around for a few minutes, fascinated by all the odd props. It was just a distraction, though, as Alex suspected she wasn't the only one trying to figure out what the heck had happened to the Sub Station…if that was still what it was. Alex had to laugh at how tacky the corny magic tricks were. No one was entertained by those anymore. Briefly, she wondered how these people managed to stay in business.

Then again, the Sub Station was constantly in financial trouble. Maybe there was something to be said for quirkiness.

Still, she couldn't get past the totally cliché nature of the items for sale. "Prepare to be amazed, folks!" she remarked, her words coated with sarcasm as she grabbed a trick hat off a shelf. "Nothing in the hat!" She showed the inside, then she added some exaggerated dramatic flair while she pulled out the stuffed rabbit hidden under the false bottom. "Ta da! Applause, really? Oh, you're all too kind."

"Alex, be nice," Jerry warned. "Someone clearly makes a living selling this stuff. And chances are, we're going to need their help. But first we should figure out where…or when…we are."

Her brow wrinkled, Theresa asked, "And when we figure that out…are we going to be able to get home?"

Even though he wanted to placate her with a comforting answer, Jerry decided to be honest. "It really depends on our situation." At her upset look, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "But whatever happens, at least we're together."

"Thank goodness for that," Theresa agreed as she put her head on his shoulder.

"Oh, hey, look what I can do…" Max said. He emerged from one of the aisles, a pack of cards in his hand. He tried to make the deck fan from one hand to the other, but the cards fell to the floor in a pile instead. "…uh, never mind."

Justin laughed. "Great trick, Max! You turned an ordinary deck of cards into a fun game of fifty-two pick up!"

Of course she didn't _want_ to laugh at Justin's joke, but Alex still couldn't suppress the chuckle that emerged. To cover herself, she asked, "Okay, this is fun, but seriously, how do we get out of here?"

"Um, well, anyone see a calendar anywhere?" Jerry suggested. "At least we'll know if we time-traveled."

"It's June 2, 2007. Does that help?"

Startled, the entire Russo family whirled around to find that…Alex had come in from the street. Only, she was three-years-ago Alex.

"Whoa," Alex whispered. Sure, she'd cloned herself before, but this was another Alex she had nothing to do with – that she knew of, anyway. As she crossed the magic shop to the young teen, Alex asked, "Are you…me?"

Equally surprised, the younger clone stared back with wide eyes. "I-I don't know. Is your name Julia Hannigan?"

"Wait, what? No, you're Alex Russo…aren't you?" Alex asked, totally bewildered. She was grateful when her father and older brother rushed to her side.

"Hold on…" Jerry said while he paced in a small circle next to them. "So we time traveled…_and_ we're in an alternate reality? That's not supposed to happen! It's supposed to be one or the other!"

Though still confused, Julia smirked. "Okay, you're in the shop when we're closed, and you're rambling on about magic. You've _got_ to be wizards."

The whole family froze in surprise. "Y-you know about magic?" Justin sputtered.

"Yeah," Julia said, then pulled a wand identical to Alex's out of her boot. "I'm a wizard-in-training. Of course I know about magic."

"Well, isn't that convenient," Alex remarked while her family let out a collective sigh of relief. She pulled out her own wand. "My siblings and I are wizards-in-training too."

Julia's jaw dropped. "You have the same wand? That's so freaky."

His face calculating, Jerry reasoned, "Same faces, same wands…" He looked around. "And the same building. I think the termites definitely made a portal to an alternate Sub Station. Some small things will be similar, but mostly everything will be very different."

"Max!" Theresa's yell interrupted the discussion. The annoyed mother dragged her son over to the others, who snickered when they saw that Max was struggling to get out of trick handcuffs. "I'm sorry, but I turn my back for _one_ minute…"

Alex laughed. "Come on, Mom. It's Max in a magic shop. At least this is better than trying to get him out of that box you use when you saw someone in half."

"She's right," Julia said. "Because with handcuffs, all you have to do is this." She grabbed the handcuffs, and when she let go, Max was free.

While Theresa let out a sigh of relief, Max stared at his wrists in amazement. "Whoa. You've got to show me how to do that."

"Buy the handcuffs and I will," Julia teased.

"Your family has a very nice shop, Julia," Jerry began politely. "But we're hoping to figure out how to get home. Will your parents be able to help us?"

Julia frowned. "Well, my dad isn't really into magic anymore, and my mom's a mortal." The Russos each raised an eyebrow at the all-too-familiar story. "But my grandfather teaches me and my fraternal twin brother magic, so I guess he would know. Come on upstairs, I'll introduce you."

Unsure where she would lead them since the loft stairs weren't visible, Alex and her family warily followed Julia to the door they'd emerged from. However, instead of the lair, the door opened to reveal the same metal staircase the Russos knew. The wall they were passing through must have been put up to hide it.

About to follow Julia, Alex spotted her little brother still playing with the handcuffs. "Max!" she whispered. He dropped them, but Alex stayed behind to make sure he didn't grab any of the other props before he followed his family up the stairs.

* * *

As the Russos went up the stairs and entered the loft, again they found themselves staring in awe. All the bright, neon-colors had been replaced with browns, soft greens and blues. Though like the Sub Station, the loft had the same layout – even the furniture was in relatively the same position. However, it certainly wasn't the Russo household anymore.

"Got to say," Alex remarked. "This version is a lot easier on the eyes. I think Mom may have overdone the orange just a bit."

While Theresa gave her an annoyed glance, Alex's remark had attracted the attention of the two people in the kitchen. They both had the same basic features as the Russo parents, but the woman was slimmer and had less curves than Theresa, while the bulky man was all muscle and no fat. Confused at first, their jaws dropped when they spotted their equally surprised alter-egos.

"Julia!" the woman exclaimed. She let go of the blender she had been using and went over to who Alex presumed to be her daughter. "What's going on here?"

Nervous, Julia uneasily began, "I had nothing to do with it, I swear!"

"Oh yeah, she's definitely alter-Alex," Justin muttered. Then he winced when Alex smacked his arm in response.

On Julia's behalf, Jerry quickly explained, "She didn't…Mrs. Hannigan, I'm presuming? Anyway, we're a family of wizards from an alternate reality who kind of…ended up in your magic shop. In our world, it's a sandwich shop we run, and see, there were these magical termites…"

"_Oh_. Magical termites. Say no more," the man interrupted. He extended a hand for Jerry to shake. "I'm Jerry Hannigan, and this is my wife Terry."

Alex let out a chuckle. "Terry and Jerry. That's cute." She paused. "Oh. So that's why Mom uses her full name."

"Alex, don't be rude," Theresa chided. When the others weren't looking, though, she muttered to her daughter, "But yeah, that's why."

While everyone shook hands in greeting, Terry said, "Wait, so your names are Jerry and Theresa as well?" Her brow wrinkled, she turned to Justin and Alex. "So you're…Jordan and Julia? But you're at least a few years older."

"Yeah, well, the portal apparently threw in some time travel when it transported us here," Justin explained. "We're from exactly three years in the future too."

Terry put a hand to her forehead. "As if this wasn't confusing enough."

"Trust me, I feel that way _all_ the time," Theresa assured her.

"And we're not Julia and Jordan," Alex added. "I'm Alex, this is my older and ever-annoying brother Justin. And that's my younger brother Max."

After he'd nodded in acknowledgement, Max asked, "So yeah…since you guys are the owners of that magic shop downstairs, can I get those handcuffs for free?"

While the rest of his family gave him exasperated looks, Alex asked, "Max, aren't you wondering where alternate you is? Mr. and Mrs. Hannigan only mentioned two kids."

"Yeah, we just have Julia and Jordan, who are fraternal twins," Mr. Hannigan replied. "The only other person in our household is my father."

As if on cue, a balding man in his sixties walked in from the side hallway. Despite the age difference, his features were eerily similar to Max's. "Hello there," he greeted, a wide smile on his face. He glanced at his family. "Who are these people?"

"Magical termites bought them here. They're a wizard family from an alternate reality," Mr. Hannigan explained.

"Oh," the old man said with understanding. Then he looked at the Russos with curiosity. "You know what I always wondered? If you're right handed in one reality, does that mean you'd be left handed in an alternate one?"

"And he's definitely alter-Max," Alex remarked with a chuckle.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Yup, I decided to change the name. "Hannigans of Waverly Place" was always a working title anyway. Yes, "Alternate Reality" is simple, but I love it because it's like the titles of most WOWP episodes.

Also, today's my 22nd birthday, woohoo! Okay, you didn't need to know that part, but I just wanted to mention it. ;)

* * *

**Chapter 3**

"So, not that this wasn't interesting," Alex began. She'd taken the liberty of lounging on the Hannigan living room couch, while everyone stood around after introductions were made. "But can we go home now? Harper said she had a cake in the oven, and I want to be there so I can eat the leftover icing."

As the older Hannigans gave her bemused looks, Julia asked, "Who's Harper?"

"Her best friend," Jerry explained. "She lives with us since her parents moved away."

Excited, Julia took a seat next to Alex on the couch. "Oh! Is she anything like my best friend Madison? You know, the nervous hypochondriac type?"

"No, more like the oddly confident, outrageous dress-wearing, nerd-loving type," Alex answered, then tilted her head in surprise. She'd never had to sum up her best friend in one sentence before. Given Harper's complicated personality, she was surprised she'd been able to do it.

Bewildered, the twins' grandfather, who'd been introduced as Poppy, shook his head. "Anyway, getting you home shouldn't be a problem. We'll just go to the alternate reality mall in the wizard world. Won't be a problem at all."

"Oh, right!" Mr. Hannigan said. "I forgot about that. Haven't used it in a while."

Jerry nodded in agreement. "Same here. I remember I used to hang out there like it was my second home when I had my full powers."

"Hold on, I've never heard of an 'alternate reality mall' before," Justin objected. He wore an annoyed frown, the know-it-all in him clearly indignant that such a mall existed when he'd never come across it in his studies.

Aware of this, Jerry put a placating hand on his son's shoulder. "You wouldn't have, Justin. It's a mall with doors to every alternate reality known to wizards. Since traveling to alternate realities is dangerous, only full wizards are allowed in."

"Wait, what do you mean it's dangerous?" Theresa spoke up, her eyes narrowed at him.

Poppy shook his head. "Jerry just meant it's dangerous for the young full wizards who use it for fun. It's the same danger as going to any foreign country you know nothing about – you don't know what it'll be like when you get to the other side."

"Exactly. But since we're just going home, we should be fine," Jerry explained.

The conversation was interrupted when a young teenage boy came down the stairs, and froze when he saw the strangers in his living room. He glanced from his sister, to Alex, and back again. An eyebrow raised, he asked, "Mom, Dad? What's going on?"

"Don't worry, son," Terry assured him. "There's just been a little incident we need to straighten out."

Meanwhile, Alex had noticed her older brother's eyes widen at the sight of his alternate self. Her initial assessment of clean-cut, basketball-jersey-wearing Jordan was that he was the cool jock of the family. _So_ the opposite of Justin.

Oh, well. Four out of five alternate matches weren't bad.

The Hannigans brought Jordan up to speed on what was going on. Then, a grin on his face, Justin held out a hand for Jordan to shake. "Hi! I'm Justin, your alternate self. I'm a straight-A student of both mortal and wizard studies, plus I just received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Alien Language League."

"Alien…Language…League?" Jordan said with a disappointed frown.

Meanwhile, Julia had no trouble saying what Jordan was thinking. "Hah! My alternate self is cool. Yours is a nerd!"

At the boys' annoyed looks shot their way, both she and Alex then burst out laughing. Alex gave her a high-five. "I like you," she said, a wide smile on her face.

"Julia! Apologize to Justin," Mr. Hannigan ordered.

"Oh come on, he's in the Alien Language League!" Julia protested. At her parents' insistent glares, she sighed. "Sorry, Justin."

Eager to change the subject, Justin asked the Hannigans, "So…where's the portal? I didn't see another door downstairs."

"Oh, we keep it in the basement," Terry explained. "It's where we store all of the kids' magic stuff."

Confused, Max asked, "You don't have a lair?"

Poppy shrugged. "We were going to turn the basement into the lair at first, but I figured, what place is better to teach magic than a magic shop?" He grinned as he crossed his arms. "That, and I get to do magic on the stage a couple times a week. Used to do that for a living, so it brings back the glory days, you know?"

"Okay! Now that everything's all settled, let's get this show on the road, people!" Alex said as she jumped off the couch and headed for the door. All of the Russos raised an eyebrow at her uncharacteristic enthusiasm. "Hello? Harper, cake? Sometimes she throws out the container when _there's still some frosting left_!" Alex explained, as if the idea was utterly ridiculous.

Then she ran out the door before the Russos or Hannigans could even reply.

* * *

After she went through the Hannigans' portal and into the alternate reality mall, Alex immediately felt dizzy.

Wizard world portals, just like the one in her family's lair. Hundreds of them. The place really _was_ a literal mall, just like the ones Alex were used to – white tile floors, and white walls. She could even look straight up and see the upper floors with the typical glass railings. However, instead of storefronts, there were portals, with no way to tell one from the other, save for the black house-address-like numbers on the wall right beside them.

The sheer _massiveness_ of the place was overwhelming. Alex couldn't see the ceiling, nor either end. As far as she knew, the place just went on forever in all three directions.

How in the world were they going to find _their_ portal?

While the others also stared in amazement, Alex crossed her arms as she walked further into the hallway. "So Dad…you remember the portal address, right?"

"I know it looks daunting, but it really is simple," Jerry assured her.

As he spoke, a typical mall directory made of polished wood popped up from the floor. Both families gathered around to look. Well at least, the Russos, Poppy, and the kids did. The Hannigan parents had stayed behind to open the shop for the afternoon.

While shaped like a regular mall directory, there was no map on it. Instead, twenty addresses were in two columns. At eye level was a speaker, the kind found at any drive-thru window. Jerry went up to it and pressed the red button next to the speaker.

Sure enough, an automatic voice came out. "Welcome to the Wizard World Alternate Reality Mall. Please state the address you are seeking."

"Six-nine-eight-eight," Jerry said loudly into the speaker. It was the Russo's portal address, a number all three kids were taught on day one of magic lessons.

The speaker crackled again. "Okay, would you like fast, slow, or instantaneous transport with that?"

While the others gave the speaker bewildered looks, Jerry tilted his head in thought. "I'll take instantaneous, thank you."

"Your order is being processed. Have a nice day," the speaker replied. Then the directory was sucked into the floor.

Before anyone could ask what that was about, their surroundings blurred. When the mall came into focus again, they were in front of portal six-nine-eight-eight.

"Whoa, that's cool," Julia whispered, then looked around at the surrounding portals. "I wonder what other alternate realities there are…"

Poppy gave her a warning look. "Don't even think about it. Neither of you are ever allowed here on your own, understood?"

While the twins both nodded in response, Jerry began to push the portal door open. It didn't budge. He tried it again, only to get the same result. "Uh oh."

"What is it, Jerry?" Theresa asked, growing panic in her voice.

"I'm not sure…" Jerry began, then his eyes widened. "Uh oh," he repeated. "The wall of plastic Alex and Justin made!"

"Uh oh," Alex, Justin and Max said in unison.

"Wall of plastic?" Jordan asked. "Why would you do that?"

But Poppy sighed with understanding. "They were probably trying to stop another wave of termites from coming in. As they should have. Unfortunately, this is the danger of doing that when termites are already _in_ the house. The wall should really only be a preventative measure."

"I know, but we were planning to leave the house during the infestation anyway. I thought we had time," Jerry explained.

Anxiety on her face, Theresa said, "So, we're just stuck here?" Tears were starting to form. "There has to be something we can do!"

"Harper!" Alex exclaimed suddenly.

Justin rolled his eyes at her. "Are you really still thinking about the icing, Alex? I don't think that's important right now."

"Hey, icing is _very_ important!" Max argued.

"No, no," Alex said with a shake of her head. "Harper's still on the other side! We can yell to her for help!"

"Great idea, Alex!" Jerry exclaimed. He opened a panel, and all of the Russos started calling for Harper. There was no response. They continued to call, their voices louder with each shout. But the lair continued to be empty, save for the mess left after the termite-induced earthquake.

When they were just about out of breath, Justin reminded them, "The door's probably closed." His eyes then widened in realization. "And she's a mortal! The lair doesn't appear for her unless one of us does it!"

At that, the whole Russo family groaned. Disheartened, Jerry said, "I guess we'll just have to go back to the Hannigans' loft and figure this out."

"Yeah. Hey, you wouldn't happen to have any icing, would you?" Alex asked the twins. When her family gave her annoyed glances, she explained, "Well, I like to consume sugar when I'm sad. It's like when Mom goes for the ice cream after Dad accidentally calls her old."

The group simply shook their heads at her as another directory appeared, and Poppy said the number that would take them back to the Hannigans' basement.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short, everyone. It's really just transition. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! Glad people are liking this!

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Disheartened, the group returned to the Hannigan loft quiet and contemplative. Though a little disappointed she would miss Harper's cake, Alex was more focused on the serious situation at hand. The idea of not being able to return to her old life was a scary one. "So…what do we do?" she asked to no one in particular. "There has to be a way we can fix this."

Jerry sighed. "I don't know, Alex. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around how we could've both time traveled and went to an alternate reality. They're two different kinds of magic that don't usually cross over."

"That's magic for you," Poppy pointed out. "It does whatever it wants."

Though he still wasn't convinced, Jerry paused at the familiar words and nodded. "Yeah, I knew that. I guess after all these years, I still have to remind myself that with magic, anything is possible."

Her arms crossed, Theresa impatiently interrupted, "I don't care how we got here! I just want to go home! Poor Harper must be worried sick by now."

"She'd already know that you're gone? Is she at your house that much?" Julia asked, curiosity in her voice.

Justin shook her head. "Harper moved in with us when her parents moved away." He sighed. "Unfortunately, this means she can stare at me every single time I taken a nap on the couch. And I can't tell her to go home."

"_She_ stares at _you_?" Jordan asked in disbelief, his first impression of Justin clearly still fresh in his mind.

While Alex laughed, Justin gave the twin an irritated glance. "Yeah," he retorted. "She's had a crush on my for _years_. Who's been crushing on you lately, huh?" He paused when he gave basketball player Jordan another glance. "On second thought, don't answer that."

"Mom's right, though," Max put in. "I want to get home too! I want to test out that spell and make the side of our building sticky." At the others' confused looks, he added, "So I can climb up it like Spiderman, duh!"

They all turned to the stairs when Terry emerged. She stopped and stared at them all in surprise. "What are you all doing back? Did something happen?" They quickly filled her in, and she sighed. "Oh, I'm so sorry for you all. You're welcome to stay here as long as you need. I'm sure my husband would feel the same way."

"Thank you, Terry, that's very kind of you," Jerry replied, then let out a long sigh. "To be honest…I'm not sure how long we're going to be here. I suppose our only option is to contact the Council in this reality, explain what happened, and hope that they have the power to take the wall down in our reality."

Theresa raised an eyebrow. "And if they don't?"

Though he wanted to give her some meaningless words of reassurance, Jerry just lowered his eyes. At that, tears formed in Theresa's eyes again, so he went over and put his arms around her.

"Hey, we're going to fix this," Alex insisted, then grinned. "If there's one thing I've learned from messing up so much, it's that no matter how bad things look, all you have to do is come up with the right scheme." When her siblings cracked a smile at that, she added, "Remember Puerto Rico? We almost _disappeared forever_. This time our existence isn't even in danger, and you're all worried. Please, this should be a piece of cake." She paused. "Aw man, I said 'cake,'" she whined. Why did magical disaster have to strike when her best friend had been in a baking mood?

Her little pep talk had the desired effect. Everyone seemed at least a little more relaxed.

"All right, well, I guess I'll start making dinner for nine. How do you all feel about vegetable stir fry?" Terry asked. The Russos all gave word of agreement so as not to upset their host, however even Terry could see they were just being polite. "I'm sorry, but this family practices healthy eating. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll like it once you try it."

Alex glanced at Julia. "Is there any truth to that?"

"It's not bad," Julia answered, then quickly added, "But don't go by me. I grew up on it."

"Oh, and I guess I'll just clear up sleeping arrangements while I'm thinking about it," Terry said. She paused in thought. "Okay, I guess everyone can room with their alternate selves. Jerry and Theresa, this couch folds out, but it's only a full-size mattress, so I guess you'll just have to make do."

Theresa nodded. "Thank you so much. I'll help you with dinner."

"And I guess we'll go see if we can contact the Council…" Jerry said with a sidelong glance at Poppy, who nodded in confirmation.

As the adults went off on their own tasks, Alex looked to Julia. "So…"

Julia shrugged. "Want to see my prank box?"

"What's that?" Alex asked.

"It's where I keep stuff from all the great pranks I've pulled in the past," Julia answered, then explained, "I can't put my finger on why, but something tells me you'd appreciate a good prank."

Alex grinned. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be stuck in an alternate reality. At least she'd have a partner in crime. "You really _are_ alter-me, aren't you?" The two laughed as they ran upstairs to Julia's room.

* * *

As she finished frosting her cake, Harper noticed that something was very wrong. _Not one_ member of the Russo family was crowding around her, trying to steal some of the sugary goodness. That in itself was enough to make her concerned. Usually, no matter what else was going on, at least Alex would've managed to sneak up to the kitchen, even _if_ she was stuck in a wizard lesson.

Actually, the lesson should be almost over. She'd left near the end anyway, and had gone up to tend to her cake only after the customers were taken care of. While she did think it weird that Mrs. Russo never came back out to help, she didn't let it bother her too much. Luckily there hadn't been that many customers…as usual…so she didn't feel the need to go back down, since Mrs. Russo would be able to take care of everyone.

But that was an hour ago. Alex definitely should've been hounding her to finish the cake by then, maybe Max and even Mr. Russo too. Since the curiosity had turned to concern, Harper put down the cake knife and went downstairs.

The customers were still there. Harper stared in surprise – they definitely should've gotten their checks already. But the five tables with customers were still full…and the occupants had turned to her with impatient annoyance on their faces.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I thought someone else would be here!" she sputtered to the group. She quickly ran around to each table and wrote their checks, then when they all had left, put up the "CLOSED" sign. She couldn't tend to any more customers when she had to figure out what was going on. If she got in trouble…well, so be it. She had good reason, unlike Alex who did so whenever she felt like it.

After that was done, she ran to the kitchen to look in the lair, the last place she'd seen the Russos. She hoped it was still the lair, because she knew the secret room would only appear unless a wizard conjured it. If it had turned back into the freezer, well, she didn't know what she'd do. There was the hope that they'd all just gone out for ice cream or something, but that was _highly_ unlikely when there had still been waiting customers.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the freezer door wide open, the lair still visible. Maybe the lesson had just run a little long…though that didn't explain why Mrs. Russo hadn't given the customers their checks. She tried not to let the concern get the best of her, otherwise she'd be so panicked she wouldn't be able to think straight. Which she _really_ had to do if she had to figure out what happened to the Russos.

…hopefully, wherever they went, they left her a note. That would be nice.

But when she went into the lair, she didn't see the Russos, or a note. Though to be fair, it would be hard to find a note in that mess. Again, Harper just stared. The lair looked as if there had been some kind of earthquake. Broken magical and non-magical knickknacks lay scattered all over the floor.

However, an earthquake didn't explain the brightly-colored plastic wall in front of the door to the wizard world. One that looked exactly like the one Stevie had created.

"Oh no…this is bad…" Harper said to herself as she walked around the disaster area in shock. Had Stevie returned for revenge? There was the chance that she recovered from shattering to a million pieces. Harper wasn't sure how, but there could very well be some spell she didn't know about. Maybe Stevie had come in with supporters – which explained the mess – captured the Russos, and put up the wall so no one could follow her.

If that was the case…she was very afraid for her surrogate family. And she had no idea how she, a powerless mortal, could help them.

Her heart beat quickened, her palms were getting sweaty, and she felt a little dizzy. She was probably going to start hyperventilating at any moment. "Don't panic…" she warned herself through increasingly jagged breath. "Okay…starting to panic…" she sputtered, then tried to focus as the room started spinning. "And now I'm fainting. Which is just making the panic even worse."

Unable to stop herself, she landed in the recliner as she passed out, apparently more horrified by the situation than she was afraid of fainting.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

When they reached Julia's room, Alex paused for a second to take it in. Like everything else in this reality they'd seen so far, it was very familiar, but different at the same time. The room's basic structure was an exact copy of Alex's. But the fur wall paper was blue instead of pink, and her bedspread had another pattern.

"Whoa," Alex said as she went into the room. "Severe case of déjà vu right now."

Her brow wrinkled, Julia looked up from where she was digging around in her closet. "What do you mean? Is your room like mine?"

"Kind of. Not sure if I would have picked that light blue color, but in your room it works," Alex remarked as she went over to the wallpaper to feel the texture.

Julia chuckled. "Usually people comment on its furriness, not its color."

"Oh yeah, I would, except that I have pink fur wallpaper in my own room," Alex said. "Actually, I've had that for a few years now." She laughed at the memory. "I got my dad to put the fur up, and Justin got stuck with the girl wallpaper. It was great!"

As she put a large shoebox on her bed, Julia sighed. "Sounds like you're Daddy's little girl, huh? Lucky."

"How are you not? I mean, it's not like you have any sisters to compete with," Alex remarked while she sat on the bed next to the box.

Julia shrugged. "Jordan's the golden child, so I'm the bad one by default. It's not fair, 'cause he's just as sneaky as I am!"

"Wait, so _your_ golden boy has a dark side?" Alex whined, her arms crossed. "No fair! I wish Justin was like that! He'd be _way_ more interesting. But no, he's the typical over-achiever who never breaks the rules. So boring and nerdy I actually get sick of ragging on him sometimes."

As Julia shook her head in amazement, her cell phone rang. "Hello? Madison! Where are you?" she said into the phone while Alex looked on in curiosity. "What is it this time…" She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure the 'big, red itchy spot' is just a mosquito bite. I've got a few of them too. Get your butt over here or I'll transport you here myself…well, if you hate it when I do that, all the more reason to get over here, isn't it? See you in a few!"

Though Alex amused that someone could panic over a mosquito bite, she was actually more focused on the second half of the conversation. "So, wait, your best friend already knows you're a wizard? Harper didn't find out until last year."

"Oh yeah, I told her when I first got my powers," Julia explained. At Alex's surprised look, she said, "What? She's my _best friend_. I couldn't keep that from her. Neither could Jordan. He told his best friend Tanner right away too."

The information shocked Alex. They'd always been told that exposing magic to _anyone_ was a serious offense. Apparently, that rule wasn't as serious in this reality. "But what about exposure? Justin's been best friends with Zeke for years, and the poor guy still doesn't have a clue. I only told Harper because she suspected I was lying to her."

"Dad and Poppy decided it would be fair if we could each tell a friend," Julia said with a shrug. "No more than that, of course. Let's not get carried away."

_I wish Dad felt that way_, Alex thought. While she didn't care about Zeke knowing for Justin's sake, she knew it would be easier for Harper and Zeke to bond if they could talk about the Russo siblings' magical adventures. Harper had been crushing on Zeke for the longest time, and Alex wanted to encourage the relationship as much as she could…since it meant the sooner Harper would be totally over Justin. "Hey, out of curiosity, does Madison have a super-creepy crush on Jordan?"

Julia's jaw dropped. "Yes! How did you know?"

"Just a hunch. Although to be fair, in _this_ reality, the crush makes sense," Alex answered with a shake of her head. "Why girls continue to crush on my geeky brother is way beyond me."

"Because your brother is _hot_!" Julia blurted, unable to help herself. At Alex's incredulous look, she added, "The question we should be asking is, why is someone that hot even considered a geek?"

While she resisted the urge to roll her eyes, Alex retorted, "Did you _hear_ him mention the Alien Language League?"

"True. But he's still hot," Julia argued. She then shook her head and turned her attention back to the box. "Okay, so, I want to start off with a prank that has yet to be topped by anyone in my high school. Even by seniors."

Already impressed that a fourteen-year-old could do that, Alex asked, "Wow, what did you do?"

Julia proudly held up a round plastic bottle cap she'd pulled from the box. "_This_ is from the bottle of grease I used to make every toilet in school explode."

"Whoa! You didn't!" Alex exclaimed. She had to give her alternate self some _serious_ credit. Even she wouldn't have attempted that prank at Julia's age.

As Julia blushed at the compliment, she explained, "Yeah, but I really want to make my mark as the school's best prankster, and I can only do that with a _really memorable_ prank on the seniors." She paused, then grinned. "I've been working on it for a while, but I could use some help…"

"You don't have to ask me twice. I am so in," Alex said. When the two fist-pounded on it, Alex grinned. Apparently, it didn't matter if she _was_ stuck in an alternate reality – Alex could manage to have fun anywhere.

* * *

A box full of practical joke items under his arm, Justin began carefully placing them on the shelf one by one. When the girls had gone upstairs, the Hannigan parents reminded Jordan that it was his turn to run the shop for the afternoon. Even though Jordan didn't invite him to hang out, Justin tagged along to help anyway since he _really_ didn't want to see what _two_ Alex-es could be up to. Besides, he and Jordan were supposed to be alternate versions of each other…they had to have _some_ common ground.

But Jordan didn't seem to have any interest in finding it. While to be fair he was busy flattering and then selling to the customers, he didn't bother with Justin during his free time either. When no customers needed him, he did work around the shop without saying a word. Though Justin had only known Jordan for a few hours, he got the distinct impression that the younger teen was ashamed of him.

This really irritated Justin. The nerve of a fourteen-year-old kid to be ashamed of a high school senior! (Age had been one of the first questions Justin asked in an awkward attempt to make conversation.) And it frustrated Justin because he could see no obvious flaws in the younger teen to pick on, other than the obvious tendency to be too judgmental. Hard-working, attractive, charming Jordan seemed to be perfect.

And it made Justin want to scream. Come to think of it, maybe that's why Alex picked on _him_ so much.

As Justin pondered that revelation, Jordan crossed over and plopped down another box of practical jokes on the floor next to the other one. Embarrassed to be caught staring into space, Justin muttered, "Oh, hi. Does that go in the same aisle?"

"Yeah," Jordan replied, then went to go back to the product display he'd been arranging.

Though he wanted to give the kid the benefit of the doubt, Jordan's obvious attitude was the last straw. Since there were no customers in the store at the moment, Justin's annoyance got the better of him. He put the box on the floor with a purposefully loud _thump_ and marched up to the counter.

While Jordan looked up with curiosity, Justin placed his hands on the counter and looked the young teen right in the eye. "Hey, do you have a problem with me? If you do, you shouldn't, because we just met three hours ago."

Not ashamed, or interested in the least, Jordan gave a careless shrug. "I have nothing personal against you, really. You're a dork. I generally don't talk to dorks."

Well, at least Justin found another flaw in perfect Jordan. He was a jerk. "So what are you going to do, not talk to me the whole time I'm here because…'I'm a dork'?" Justin asked, with exaggerated air quotes around the last part. "Look, there's no telling how long my family is staying here, and like or not, we'll be roommates for that time." He paused. "So just drop the annoying 'cool guy' act…before I get really mad."

Of course, Justin didn't normally make threats. But Jordan didn't seem moved at all by the little speech, so Justin felt the need to add some incentive. Besides, from what he learned through experience, 'cool jocks' like this kid only compromised if they were faced with someone more intimidating.

Jordan scoffed. "What are you gonna do, yell at me in 'alien language'?" he retorted as he mimicked Justin's exaggerated air quotes.

Smug, Justin just crossed his arms and grinned. "Hey, did I mention that I'm a full-fledged monster hunter?"

"You, really?" When Justin took out his wallet from his pocket and showed his hunter license, Jordan gave him a sheepish smile as he walked around the counter. "You know, you _are_ stuck here for a while, so I guess we'll have to learn to live with each other, right? Need some help with shelving?"

_That worked well_, Justin thought happily. Since they _would_ be spending quite some time together, he decided to forgive and forget. "Yeah, sure," he said with a smile. "Thanks."

* * *

Based on the time she spotted on a wall clock, Harper figured she had been passed out for about an hour. Even though she'd regained consciousness, she still wasn't sure how she could ever help the Russos, when she didn't even know what happened to them.

True, she did have her Stevie idea, but that became a little far-fetched once she put some thought into it. Stevie and her evil plan had been shattered. It would take a long time to recover from that, more time than had passed since the whole incident. Harper was relieved that at least she didn't have to worry about the Russos being held prisoner.

Or at least, held prisoner by Stevie. She knew from Alex's stories that the Russo family had multiple magical enemies.

"Oh, what am I going to do?" Harper moaned to herself as she paced faster. "This is an emergency, and I'm no good in emergencies!"

Her use of the word "emergency" stopped her mid-pace. It made her remember something Mrs. Russo had told her when she'd first moved in...

_It was at night, after her first dinner as a Russo. Mr. Russo and Max were watching sports on TV, Justin was doing homework, and Alex was working on a painting. Much to Harper's shock and confusion, Mrs. Russo had taken the opportunity to sneak Harper down to the lair._

"_What are we doing down here, Mrs. Russo?" Harper had to ask once Theresa had closed the door behind them. "I thought you hated magic."_

_Theresa sighed. "I do. But over the years, I've learned to prepare for it." She took Harper over to the opposite wall, where she pushed aside a hanging tapestry to reveal a large square with the words "Wizard Power Panel" written on it._

_When she spotted Harper's bewildered expression, she explained, "Ever since I found out about magic, I've known that there's a dark side to it, too…which my kids seem to encounter on a regular basis. So I came up with an emergency plan in case something happened to Jerry and the kids." As Harper nodded in understanding, Theresa added, "Just because we're mortal, doesn't mean we have to be helpless, right? Since you live here now, you need to be prepared as well. "_

"_Right. That's really smart, Mrs. Russo," Harper said, genuinely impressed. She had newfound admiration for her friends' mother. "To be honest, I worry about something happening to you all too. Magic makes me nervous."_

"_Me too," Theresa said with a chuckle. "Which is why I put this in the panel here." She took out a barely-noticeable folded up piece of paper out of the corner of the panel. "This is a list of emergency contact numbers. I have another one hidden in the kitchen too, but I wanted to show you where this one was. You know, in case you were locked in the lair or something." At Harper's nervous look, she said, "I've learned over the years that anything can happen. You just need to be ready for it."_

_Since Theresa held the paper out to her, Harper took it and glanced at the numbers. The phone numbers for Kelbo and someone named Professor Crumbs were listed, but they were longer than regular phone numbers. "Why are there so many numbers?"_

"_Wand extensions," Theresa explained. "You can only call a wand from a regular phone with that extension code. You know who Kelbo is, right?" When Harper nodded, she explained, "And Professor Crumbs is the headmaster at Wiztech, where the kids take magic lessons in the summer. I'd try to reach him first."_

Incredibly relieved that the flash of memory had come to her, Harper ran over to where the panel was hidden. She then took the paper, which was thankfully still there, and ran to the lair's phone. Paper open in her hand, she carefully dialed the number to contact Professor Crumbs.

And promptly got an answering machine. After leaving a message that the Russos were in trouble, and that he needed to call back _as soon as possible_, she reluctantly hung up the phone…then proceeded to call Alex's uncle Kelbo.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

After Justin helped close the magic shop for the night, he and Jordan went upstairs since dinner was ready. They found everyone from both families already there. He paused when he saw Max wearing an old magician's top hat. "Nice hat," Justin remarked, sarcasm in his words. "I'm guessing you stole that from the shop when I wasn't looking?"

"Nope! It's Poppy's!" Max said as he tapped the wide brim of the hat. "Remember when I picked magician for my Plan B?"

Justin paused. "No, not really...I remember Alex and I wanted to be a band so we played this really cool song, but then everyone disappeared..." His eyes widened and he glared at his little brother. "Oh. Continue."

"Well, I told Poppy about it, and he said he'd teach me some cool tricks!" Max tapped the hat again. "This is his from when he used to do magic shows."

While he used actual magic every day, Justin did have some respect for mortal illusions. It was fascinating to learn how those without magic made objects look like they were levitating, or how someone could "disappear." Mortal magic was definitely a skill. "That actually is pretty cool, Max. Have fun with that."

The two families made their way to the dining area table and took their seats. Justin made the conscious decision not to sit anywhere near Jordan. Though the two had that little ice breaking moment, they still weren't the best of friends. While they finished stocking the shelves, the teens realized they had nothing in common after about twenty minutes of painfully awkward conversation.

The phenomenon mystified him. _Why is everyone else so similar..._Justin thought while he started to fill his dinner plate with food. _...but we're so different?_ They were supposed to be alternate versions of each other, right? Which meant that by nature they were the same, but were affected by differences in their respective realities. Justin supposed that being the oldest of two siblings, as opposed to being a twin, was the one major difference between their worlds. And while Justin couldn't readily draw the direct connection, he could see how something like that would drastically alter their personalities.

And they did have one similarity. Justin could tell both from the short conversation, and Jordan's popular jock image, that the two liked to excel in everything they did. Maybe next time they had to spend time with each other, which was inevitable since they would be sharing a room, Justin could somehow use that as a conversation starter.

While lost in thought, Justin was distracted when he started the really look at what he was eating. The vegetables had great flavor, and the rice was cooked perfectly, but... "Um, Mrs. Hannigan?" he asked. Terry looked up at him. "This meal is delicious, but at the risk of sounding rude...what's that solid, brown vegetable? I don't think I've seen it before."

"Oh, that's tofu."

Each Russo froze in disgust, then did their best to force their current mouthful down their throats. Alex failed and had to spit hers into her napkin. "Uh...that's, that's interesting..." Justin replied. He tried to tell himself to not be so immature, that if he liked it before he knew what it was, he should like it after. But that was hard to remember over the strong urge to spit the strange substance out.

"I take it you Russos don't eat healthy," Mr. Hannigan said. He continued to eat his stir-fry as Jerry might eat a slice of pizza.

Theresa shook her head. "Not exactly. I tend to cook foods from my heritage...enchiladas, tacos, quesadilas. Or I'll make an Italian dish from Jerry's side, like lasagna."

During Theresa's list of delicious foods, Jordan and Julia stared at her as if in a trance. "Take me home with you!" Jordan pleaded, and Julia forcefully nodded in agreement.

Their mother glared at them. "Funny, you two. Just for that I'm making plain, steamed vegetables tomorrow night." While the twins groaned, she turned to her guests. "Don't pay any attention to them. They're just bitter because I refuse to make them any greasy, processed junk."

"Ah, greasy, processed junk..." Julia said, a wistful look on her face. "I had that once, I think. Tell me, does anyone still make pizza?"

As everyone else laughed, Terry continued, "Seriously! Healthy eating can be very delicious if you give it a chance. Tell you what – I'll make some of my best dishes while you're all here. That will convince you. In the meantime, try this homemade hummus. We have it with these organic crackers."

She pushed a dip bowl full of a creamy light brown substance and the plate of crackers towards the Russos, who just stared. "I'm not touching it," Max insisted. "I don't know what it is, but 'hummus' sounds an awful lot like 'fungus.'"

"Yeah, what he said," Alex agreed.

"Oh, please, you guys. It's a spread made from chickpeas," Justin said as he took a cracker and dipped it in the spread. He took a bite. He'd had store-bought hummus at Zeke's house before. The crackers had no flavor, but the hummus, which had a hint of tomato and garlic, was nice. "Wow, that's good, Mrs. Hannigan."

Terry smiled. "Thank you, Justin." She then glanced at her children. "See? It's possible to compliment my cooking, and mean it." Curious, she asked, "What do you think of the crackers, Justin? They're sodium-free. I got them from a health-food store."

"You know, I've always felt that a little salt never hurt anyone," Justin quickly replied, then while the others chuckled, stuffed his mouth with more vegetables and rice to avoid further questioning.

* * *

"Genius..." Alex said while she gazed into the contents of a large cardboard box. "That's pure genius! I love it!"

Julia beamed with pride. "Thanks! This prank will go down in history!"

"And so will we when we're expelled," Madison remarked. She was the best friend Julia had mentioned earlier, but of course, Alex thought she looked an awful lot like Harper, even if the two seemed very different. Alex was having a hard time adjusting to "Harper" wearing normal clothes.

"Oh, please. This won't get you expelled. Just detention for a few months at _most_," Alex admitted. But she could care less about that when her mind was racing with ways to make this prank even more epic. Excited, she reached into the box, scooped up a handful of the colorful party poppers, and then let the small plastic objects fall through her fingers. "Party poppers. I really don't know why I never thought of these. They're loud, and confetti will be _everywhere_! Teachers will be so ticked off!" she practically squealed, delighted at the thought.

"My thoughts exactly," Julia said, then picked up one from the box. "Notice these are even bigger than regular ones. More confetti, and it shoots ten feet in the air. I told Poppy what I was doing and he told me about these. He called in a favor from a supplier and got me five hundred of them."

"Your grandpa is awesome," Alex replied, then glanced back at the box. "So you want to attach one of these to every seat in the auditorium? Makes sense. Add an extension to the string, attach the popper to the seat back, tape the string to the inside of the chair bottom, and when people put it down to sit, _boom_!" She suddenly clapped her hands loudly for emphasis.

"Ah!" Madison yelled as she almost jumped out of her chair. They were seated around a table in the magic shop. It was the next day, and Julia was supposed to be working. However, thanks to the brief lull in business, Julia was able to share her plan.

After she'd raised an eyebrow at the over-reaction, Alex continued, "I love the concept, Julia, I really do. You couldn't have picked a better time too."

"Yup, during the seniors' last assembly," Julia said with a happy sigh. "I only wish I could be there to see it."

The initial excitement was beginning to fade, so Alex thought about possible ways Julia's plan could backfire so they could prevent it. An essential step in any prank. "Now, is anyone using the auditorium before the assembly?"

Julia shook her head. "Nope, made sure of that when I came up with this idea. Senior assembly is first period."

"Good. But we still have to worry about janitors going in to clean and discovering the prank," Alex realized. "Have you thought about when you're doing this?"

"After midnight. It could probably be earlier, but I want to make sure no one will be in the building," Julia explained.

Madison sighed. "Sure. Wouldn't want anyone to catch us breaking and entering."

"We won't actually be 'breaking' in. I'll transport us in with magic," Julia said, as if it should be obvious. "I want to use magic to speed up the process of attaching the poppers, but I haven't thought of a spell yet."

Alex considered the problem for a minute, then said, "Well, I'm guessing you got five hundred because there are five hundred auditorium seats, right?" When Julia nodded, she continued, "So maybe you shouldn't do all five hundred. Only half, or maybe only seats not on the aisle. Less work for us, and there's more surprise. Students might continue to open seats if they're not sure if theirs will go of." She sighed. "I am so trying this prank when I get back home. Maybe on a smaller scale since there's no way I'm doing all this work by myself."

"Hm, cut the amount of seats in half, and we each only have to do a third," Julia said while she did the math in her head. "About eighty-five each is a _lot_ better than the about one-seventy we would've had to do."

Impressed, Alex said, "Wow, alter-me is good at math. Who would've guessed?"

"What are you going to do with the extra poppers, though?" Madison pointed out.

Julia shrugged. "I work at a magic shop, don't I? For the next few days, customers get an extra bag of poppers for a dollar with each purchase. Put ten in a bag, that's twenty five bags, and I can buy that new CD I've been wanting."

"Huh," Alex said as she stared at Julia in amazement. "I'm starting to think what people say about me is right. I _am_ an evil genius."

* * *

Oddly enough, the Russo household was quiet the rest of the day. Since Kelbo never returned her call, Harper spent the night in the loft alone. Too spooked to sleep in her basement room, she'd gotten out some spare blankets and intended to slept on the couch. This actually worked out well, since she hadn't been able to sleep anyway and kept the television on for company.

When dawn finally broke, Harper started to wonder what would happen if no one ever got back to her. She tried to be reasonable, remind herself that Kelbo and Professor Crumbs were probably just hadn't checked their messages, and would get back to her when they did. But waiting for them would surely be agonizing torture. Especially since she kept imagining all kinds of tragedy that could have happened to her surrogate family.

To keep her mind busy, she brought the dress she was working on up to the loft, again so she could keep the television on as background noise. The two distractions managed to help her stay somewhat calm. And if the Russos weren't back yet, she'd have to go to school. Hm, she'd need to come up with an excuse for why the siblings wouldn't be there...maybe she could say a family member passed away and the Russos needed to fly to another part of the country for the...

"Ah!"

The sudden flash of magic caused Harper to scream and leap off the couch in shock. When her heart returned to its normal speed, she saw that it was Kelbo who had flashed in. "Oh, Kelbo! Thank goodness!" Overwhelmed, she gave him a tight, grateful hug.

"Wow, never been greeted this way before," Kelbo said, then pried Harper off him. "You're Alex's friend, right? Hannah?"

"Harper, but close enough."

Confused, Kelbo looked around. "So, I just checked my messages and got yours. What happened? Where is everybody?"

"That's what I can't figure out," Harper explained. "Everyone was in the lair yesterday for a magic lesson. I was there to hang out with Alex, but then Mrs. Russo came in to tell me to help her out with the Sub Shop. I went out, but then my cake was done so I went upstairs to frost it, thinking Mrs. Russo could take care of the customers for a while. I came down to find that the customers weren't taken care of, so I went into the lair since the door was open...and the Russos were gone! And it looked like there was an earthquake in there, _and_ there was a plastic wall in front of the portal!"

Kelbo absorbed the information for a long moment, then asked, "Where's the cake?"

"_What?_"

"Well, I'm hungry. And I can't focus if I'm hungry."

"_Fine_. It's over there on the counter."

Fifteen minutes later, after Kelbo had a large piece of cake, the two went down to the lair so he could see the damage. Harper had made sure to keep the door open with one of the Sub Shop's chairs to stop the lair from turning back into the freezer. "So?" she asked once he got a good look around. "Can you tell what happened?"

"An earthquake?" Kelbo guessed. At Harper's look, he said apologetically, "Sorry, but I'm not good with knowing stuff. Magical or not." He paused. "Although...I think I do kind of remember some magical being causing earthquakes, but only in one room at a time. I think my family had it when we were kids."

Harper nodded in encouragement. "That's it! Do you remember what it was?"

"Uh...termites, I think. All I remember..."

He was interrupted when the room started to shake. Then the lights flickered a dark shade of brown. Harper screamed and threw her arms over her head to protect herself from any objects that might crash into her.

Meanwhile, Kelbo just stood there as the memory came to him. "Oh _right_! Forgot about the brown lighting. Yup, these are definitely termites."

"So how do you get _rid_ of them? And that still doesn't explain where the Russos..." Harper had been shouting over the rumble, so when it abruptly stopped, she lowered her voice. "...went."

Kelbo shrugged. "I don't really remember anything else. But I do know that having this plastic wall in front of the portal probably isn't a good idea. You should probably call Plastic Removal Specialists for that."

"Okay, but there has to be a way to find out more..." Harper trailed off, then ran to the door as she exclaimed, "The wizard computer! Justin left it upstairs when he used it to look up a monster he was hunting! Oh thank goodness, it's been driving me crazy not knowing what happened to..."

She'd reached the still-open doorway...but found that it no longer led to the Sub Station kitchen. Instead, much to her shock, she was faced with a _very_ familiar coffeehouse.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_This isn't possible..._ Harper thought while she took a tentative step into the coffeehouse. _I know lots of things are possible with magic, but...this place shouldn't even_ exist_..._

Though mesmerized by her surroundings, Harper remembered Kelbo's presence and glanced back. He didn't seem as shocked as she was, which was understandable given that his life was all about magic. But there was some curiosity on his face, so she said, "We're in _Central Perk_! How is that even possible? _Friends_ is a TV show!"

"Central Perk? Awesome! Haven't been here in years!"

In a flash he magically changed his typical random outfit, this one a baseball player's uniform, to slacks and a polo shirt. At Harper's raised eyebrow, he said with a shrug, "I like to blend in."

"Wait, you've been here before?" Harper asked in disbelief. "B-but...it's..."

"It's an alternate reality. All TV shows and movies are," Kelbo explained as he strode into the coffeehouse. "Me, I prefer time travel. But lots of my wizard friends go a little overboard with their theme parties. Just last week one was held in the actual _30 Rock_ studio." He grinned. "I may or may not have made out with Liz Lemon."

_An alternate reality?_ Harper thought in confusion, too focused on figuring out what was going on to pay attention to Kelbo's story. _So the termites caused this? That must have been what happened to the Russos! _Relieved, she asked, "The Russos must be here, right? If the termites did this?"

"Probably not," Kelbo answered, and she frowned. "From what I've seen, I think termites open a different door every time one of those earthquake things happen. Who knows where my brother and his family ended up."

"Of course. Because ending up in the same alternate reality as them would have been too easy," Harper grumbled. Magic was always so complicated. "But it couldn't hurt to ask, right? Maybe this door was opened before, then it changed while I was upstairs, and then it changed back. We should still ask around and see if anyone's seen the Russos."

Though doubtful, Kelbo shrugged. "Sure. I could use a cup of coffee anyway."

Harper sighed and turned back to look around the coffeehouse. They were in the hallway at the end of the bar where the bathrooms were, the part never shown in the show. The whole coffeehouse somehow seemed much smaller than it was on TV, but everything else was the same. To be honest, she was secretly thrilled to be on the "set" of an old favorite show.

But she couldn't be distracted by the situation. While it would be a fun place to visit, she didn't want to be trapped there. "Kelbo, maybe you should stay in the lair so that the door doesn't close. Otherwise we'll be stuck here. I think, anyway."

"Okay. But what lair?"

"What do you mean..._where did the lair go_?"

While they were talking, the lair had been replaced in front of them with doors to the girls' and guys' bathroom, and to their left, a hallway that Harper knew led out to the back dumpster. She stared in horror.

"_Noooooooo!_" Harper screeched. Her heart started to pound, her hands got sweaty...

"Excuse me? We at Central Perk would prefer if customers didn't scream for no apparent reason. Thank you."

"Oh, sorry Gunther," Harper replied. She then did a double take, her eyes wide. "Oh my gosh, you're Gunther!"

The white-haired man gave her a puzzled glance for a second, then shrugged and went back to work.

Meanwhile, Kelbo warned Harper, "Tone it down, will ya? The key to blending in with fictional characters is pretending you don't know who they are. You don't want them to think you're crazy, do you?"

"Right, that makes sense," Harper replied. Then she went back to panicking. "How do we get back to our reality _now_?"

But Kelbo remained calm. "_Relax_! I do this all the time, remember? There's this fairly recent spell that allows wizards to open their own door to whichever reality they want. I'll just use that."

"There's a spell that does that?" When Kelbo nodded, Harper asked incredulously, "_Then why haven't the Russos used it to get home yet?_"

"You need to be a full wizard," Kelbo explained, then tilted his head. "And actually, it's only been around for the last ten years or so, and only really known by wizards who make a habit of reality-hopping. They probably don't even know it exists."

Harper's shoulders sagged in disappointment. Chances were, she and Kelbo wouldn't be able to get the message to the Russos, especially since the two had no idea where the family was. And even then, none of the Russo wizards were full ones. "I guess that's not an option then," Harper said with a sigh. "But at least _we_ can get home. And it probably wouldn't hurt to ask if anyone's seen the Russos anyway."

"And I still need a cup of coffee! And maybe one of those muffins..." Kelbo said as he wandered over to the bar.

"But Kelbo..." Harper said. She'd wanted him to help her ask around. But when she looked at all the delicious pastries, her stomach grumbled. "Get me one of those doughnuts, will you?" she asked after he'd looked back at her. "I'll pay you back later."

* * *

Justin was ready to go home.

At first when they were stuck in this reality, he'd reasoned that it could be a nice adventure. Monster hunting was a little slow lately, so for him it was a welcome break from the ordinary. True, they didn't have a way to get home. But in a way, his sister was right (not that he would ever tell her that) – their family usually did end up fixing whatever strange disaster they found themselves in. So he put aside his fears of impending doom and embraced the different experience.

Then he had to endure the first night in his room. Well, Jordan's room, which was Justin's room only totally devoted to sports, the way his was devoted to spells and science. Most of the wall space was devoted to shelves full of sports' trophies. Justin had tried to use this as a conversation starter, by saying he had quite a few trophies back home.

Five minutes later, that topic had run dry. He and Jordan were just not compatible.

So, he'd spent breakfast and the early afternoon talking with his dad and Mr. Hannigan about ways to get the Russos home. Mr. Hannigan already left a message for this reality's version of Professor Crumbs, but the old professor hadn't called back yet. The fathers had also put in a call to the Wizard Council's Department of Inter-Reality Incidents, but with similar results. If they wanted to get home with help from fellow wizards, they'd be playing the waiting game for a while.

Which was why Alex had inadvertently helped them come up with plan C. When the two ex-wizards told everyone that they'd hit dead ends, Alex had actually shown concern that her best friend had no idea what had happened to them (which to Justin was an indication of how serious the situation really was). That was when Justin remembered about calling for Harper through an open portal panel. Maybe they couldn't get through it themselves...

But they could certainly leave a note.

Of course, there were many ways this plan could fall through. They couldn't see the kitchen door from the portal panel, so it could very well be closed, which meant Harper wouldn't be able to get in the lair. Even if the door was open, the termites would also serve as an obstacle. Reluctantly, the worried Russos had realized with horror that Harper could have ended up in an entirely different reality all by herself.

They still had to try though. It was the only way they could actively help themselves at the moment.

That was how Justin ended up back in the virtual reality mall with his father and Mr. Hannigan. Justin had volunteered for the trip since he had nothing else to do anyway. A notebook, pen, and a roll of masking tape in hand, they stood before the Russo's portal. The tape was so they could attach the note to the plastic wall.

"I'll write it," Justin offered, and opened the new notebook he already had in his hand. "Mr. Hannigan, if you're anything like my father, I have better handwriting than both of you. After about ten years of working in the Sub Station, I still can't tell if Dad's writing 'mustard' or 'mayo.'"

"How can you not tell? Don't you see the 'y' in 'mayo'? It's very clear!" Jerry insisted.

Justin raised an eyebrow. "Not really when it's all chicken scratch!"

"Remind me why you came along again?"

With a sigh, Mr. Hannigan interrupted, "So Justin, about the letter..." At that, the Russo men stopped bickering and listened. "Say that termites transported you to an alternate reality, everyone is safe, and that you're doing your best to get home. I'd say ask for help but you said Harper is a mortal." He paused. "Speaking of, tell her to get out of the house and go stay with someone else so she doesn't get lost in another reality."

The reasoning was sound, but Justin didn't know of anyone Harper could stay with. "With who, though? Her parents are in another part of the country." He sighed. "I'll think of something."

A sudden thought occurred to Jerry, who said, "Write down Professor Crumbs' phone number and tell her to call him. Maybe he can help from our reality." Thankfully, Jerry knew it by heart, so he recited it and Justin wrote it down.

"Got it. Hey, maybe we should come back and check if she leaves us a message," Justin

suggested. "She might get news from Professor Crumbs."

They all thought that was another good idea, so Justin wrote:

_Dear Harper,_

_We're sure you must be worried sick about us. Don't worry, everyone is safe. But the house is infested with magical termites, and you should get out as soon as possible, otherwise like us you might get trapped in an alternate reality. If you don't have a friend to stay with, your best bet is to stay in the loft common area. When the termites cause an earthquake, whatever you do, _do not enter the portal they open_! This is the reason you should stay in the loft – you will have food and plenty of space in case the portal doesn't revert back for several hours._

_You might be wondering how you got this note. In this alternate reality, we're staying with alternate versions of ourselves who run a magic shop instead of a sandwich shop. Yes, it is as weird as it sounds. We've used their portal to access a place called an alternate reality mall, where we can find any other existing portal. We'll be back tomorrow, Monday, around five o'clock or so if there's anything you need to tell us. Leave a message if you won't be at the portal._

_In the meantime, please contact a wizard who might be able to help us, Professor Crumbs. His number is at the bottom of this page. It has that many numbers because of the wand extension._

_Good luck. We're sure we'll make it home soon._

_From, _

_The Russos_

* * *

Since it was Poppy's turn to run the shop, Max stood behind the check-out counter with him. After his dad, Mr. Hannigan, and Justin had left for the alternate reality mall, the youngest Russo had decided it would be a good time to bug the older wizard for some magic trick lessons. Fortunately, Poppy didn't mind an audience.

"Show me another one!" Max begged. Poppy had just demonstrated a cool trick where a metal ball appeared to be floating on a scarf. "Please? One I can do. I'd try the scarf trick, but I think somehow Alex would end up tying the scarf around my mouth. She's done it before when I wasn't even doing a magic trick."

Poppy let out a hearty laugh. "Sure, kid. I don't mind when you're so eager to learn. That's definitely a rarity around here."

"Why would that be? Magic tricks are awesome!" Max insisted.

With a said sigh, Poppy explained, "Julia and Jordan are so spoiled by _real_ magic, that they don't really appreciate the family business. It's hard for them to be amazed by a floating object when they can make anything float with a flick of their wrist."

"But real magic is easy. All you have to do is..." Max pointed at a small notepad on the counter he'd brought to take notes. He made it float back down. "Fake magic takes skill."

Meanwhile, a customer had been watching them from where she stood browsing in one of the aisles. Amazed, she ran up to the counter. "Wow, impressive trick! Can you show me how it works?"

"Uh...yeah, sure, let's go with that," Max replied, nervous that he'd been caught using magic. "It works by...uh..."

"This amazing Spider Pen!" Poppy said. In his hand he held what looked like an ordinary fancy pen, still in its plastic package. He handed it to the customer, who examined it. "You attach a thread to whichever object you're floating, and a motor keeps the thread tense so you can pick up objects."

Reluctant to accept the excuse, she replied, "But neither of you were holding a pen."

"I had one in my pocket," Poppy said as he pulled one out of the pocket of his slacks. He must have made it appear with magic, because Max was sure there hadn't been a pen in that pocket before the customer walked up.

Satisfied, the customer smiled. "Oh. Very cool. How much is it?"

"Fifty bucks," Poppy answered. The customer didn't hesitate to hand over the money, and she was ripping open the plastic package on her way out of the store. "Huh, you just helped me make a sale. Thanks, Max," he said as he patted the teen on the back. "Don't make a habit of it though. I already laid down the law when the twins were growing up – no using real magic to scam customers."

Max stared at him in confusion. "You don't? Then why bother having a magic shop?"

As Poppy laughed in response, more customers began to file in, so he excused himself and went to go help them. Since he figured he might be left alone for a while, he looked around for something to do.

He didn't have too look long. "Max! Hey, Max!"

The call came from Julia, who was sitting at the table on the other side of the store. She and Alex had been working on something all day that involved tying pieces of string about six inches long to the ends of weird-looking party poppers. He was tempted to steal one so he could scare Justin later, like he did every New Year's, but stayed away in case he was asked to help out with whatever the girls were up to.

That was why he ignored Julia and pretended to be fascinated by the Spider Pen, left on the counter when Poppy walked away. Actually, Max didn't have to pretend. He soon forgot about Julia's call as he got lost in trying to find the pen's motor switch.

His concentration was interrupted when Julia grabbed the pen out of his hands. "Hey Max, why don't you help us with our project?"

Max tried to grab the pen back, but she was standing on the other side of the counter out of his reach."Why would I do that when it's probably going to get me in trouble?"

"You help us, and I'll tell you how to turn the pen on," Julia said with a smirk.

Since he didn't have anything better to do anyway, Max shrugged. "Deal."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Upset over not finding the Russos after asking several customers, Harper took a minute to indulge in the doughnut Kelbo had bought for her. She'd been surprised when not only did Kelbo get her the doughnut, but a large coffee as well, and told her not to worry about settling up when they got back home. While she wasn't really a coffee drinker, she accepted both anyway since it was such a kind gesture. After she gave it some thought, though, she realized it made sense - Alex had told her of Uncle Kelbo's generous gifts to his niece and nephews every time he visited.

"So, you've been here before?" Harper asked as she took a tentative sip of her too-hot coffee. Just the novelty of drinking coffee on the couch in Central Perk was enough to get past the beverage's temperature.

Kelbo shrugged. "My friend had a party here back when _Friends_ was at the height of its popularity. You know the episode, _The One with Two Parties_?" When she nodded, he continued, "We crashed the one Joey and Chandler were throwing. _Tons_ of fun, even if the party theme was a little cliché."

"Wow," Harper replied, too amazed to say much else.

Her amazement doubled...no, _quadrupled_ when she saw who walked in to Central Perk. Phoebe, Rachel, and Joey. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed, but her voice was low enough that she didn't attract the characters' attention. "I-It's...it's..."

"People we don't know, remember?" Kelbo replied. He then went back to sipping his coffee and eating his muffin as if nothing had happened.

Harper sighed. "Right. We should probably move though, we're in their spot."

"Are we supposed to know that? I'm sitting at the table, and you're on the end of the couch. Plenty of room."

"But...but..." Harper trailed off when, sure enough, Phoebe and Rachel sat at the other end of the couch while Joey went to order drinks. She couldn't help but stare wide-eyed at the famous characters even though she knew she'd look like a crazy person. Judging from the characters' hair and clothing styles, Harper guessed she and Kelbo had ended up somewhere in season eight.

As they became aware that a stranger was staring at them, Phoebe and Rachel turned to stare back. "Hi!" Phoebe greeted, while Rachel just looked on, totally uncomfortable. "You must recognize me from my numerous performances on the Central Perk stage. I have many fans of my music."

Meanwhile, Rachel took a break from being uncomfortable to choke back laughter.

Harper had to do the same herself, but managed to stay somewhat calm. "Yeah, that's it. Big fan of 'Smelly Cat.'"

"Ah, yes, that song has touched many lives," Phoebe replied, not suspicious in the least. She then gave the teen's outfit a once-over, one Harper had made out of old aprons she'd decided to wear after baking the day before. "I have to say, I'm a fan of your outfit! Did you make it yourself?"

"Yeah. I make all of my dresses," Harper replied.

Though Phoebe was delighted by the concept, Rachel was slightly less impressed. "Really? Couldn't tell," she remarked.

Because Harper knew Rachel so well, she could detect the sarcasm. But like all other negative comments directed at her wardrobe, she took it as a compliment. "Thanks. This one was actually easy to make compared to some others. I made this dress totally covered with markers, took me _forever_..."

"Whoa, really? You have to tell me how you did that!" Phoebe exclaimed. "I can just sense the artistic expression seeping out of you, and I so admire you for it! Sometimes I regret that I've toned down my wardrobe over the years."

The flattery made Harper blush. She wasn't used to genuine compliments on her wardrobe. "Thanks! It's so rare that someone gets what I'm trying to do. If you want I can give you some tips on how to personalize..."

"Uh, Harper? I think we have to go," Kelbo interrupted, a wary eye on Joey.

Confused, Harper glanced over as well to find that the soap opera star was staring back, as if trying to think of how he knew Kelbo. "Why?" Harper figured Kelbo, who had experience dealing with fictional characters, would just come up with an excuse for why he'd been at the party.

But Kelbo leaned in and, so the women wouldn't hear, explained, "You know that party I crashed?" he said. "Well, I had a few too many drinks, and when that happens I tend to insult everyone around me. I may have called Joey a few names your innocent ears shouldn't hear at least until college."

"Oh...well, we should get back to finding the Russos anyway," Harper replied. Though reluctant to pass up an opportunity to share fashion tips with one of her favorite Friends, she turned to Phoebe. "Uh, my...father, and I have to go, but it was so nice to meet you!"

Phoebe nodded in agreement. "Yeah, totally! I'll be looking for you in the audience during my next concert!"

"Oh, you don't have to," Harper replied quickly. As Phoebe and Rachel stared in confusion, Harper and Kelbo ran past Joey, who continued to stare as well until the two ran to the alleyway next to Central Perk.

Once the door was closed behind them, Kelbo snapped his fingers, and his wand appeared. "_We don't want to stay here anymore, open up this reality's door: Waverly Place Sub Station, June 3, 2010_. "

There was a flash of light, and when it faded, Harper found herself back in the Sub Station. Thankful for the familiar surroundings, she collapsed into one of the chairs. "Oh, thank goodness."

"Yeah. See, _that's_ why I prefer time travel. You don't have to deal with the same people who remember the stupid stuff you do at their parties." He paused. "Anything else I can do for you? I mean, I can't take down the plastic - I'll contact Plastic Removal Specialists for though, in case the Russos are trying to get home through the alternate reality mall."

Totally confused by all of the magic phrases she didn't understand, Harper just shrugged. She'd been planning on looking up magical termites anyway, and she was probably better off doing that by herself. "Nope, I'm good. Thanks Kelbo."

"That's Uncle Kelbo to you, kid," Kelbo reminded her. "Aren't you a Russo now?"

Harper grinned. As frustrating as it was that Kelbo hadn't been able to completely solve her problem, he'd definitely been of some assistance, and good company. "Right. Thanks, Uncle Kelbo."

* * *

Minutes after they left the note, Justin and the fathers made it back to the loft. "Harper wasn't there," he announced to his mother and Terry, who were in the kitchen. "We still couldn't tell if the door was left open. But we left her the message, and Professor Crumbs' phone number, so hopefully he'll be able to help."

"Oh, good. She'll call him, he'll do something, and we'll be home by tomorrow," Theresa replied with a sigh of relief. She then grinned at Terry. "Not that we haven't enjoyed staying here, of course."

Terry chuckled. "It's all right, I understand. Anyone in your situation would be eager to get home." That said, she turned to the men. "Theresa and I already ate, but don't worry, there's plenty of my special Farmer's Grove Salad left." She then glanced at Theresa. "Do you want seconds?"

It was clear from the slight frown on Theresa's face that she hadn't enjoyed the salad as much as her alter-ego had. "Oh no, I'm just so...full from all those delicious vegetables. And it looks like there's only just enough for the guys."

"Oh no, you can have my portion, I don't mind," Justin quickly offered. His father glared at him, annoyed that his son had used the excuse first.

"Please, you don't even know what's in it," Terry chided as she moved the big bowl closer to them on the counter, and indicated for them to get a better look. "See? No tofu. It's just spinach, zucchini, yellow squash, sunflower seeds, walnuts, and feta cheese. Plus some lemon and olive oil for dressing."

"Olive oil? That is not dressing. Do you have any of the white, creamy stuff?" Jerry asked hopefully.

Mr. Hannigan let out a longing sigh. "This house has never had the white, creamy stuff I'm afraid. Or the pink creamy stuff. Or the..."

"Oh, Jerry, you sound like the kids," Terry retorted. Determined, she took out three salad plates and placed them in front of the guys. "Now stop whining and try it."

Minutes later the guys were seated around the table, plates of salad in front of them. The women had gone upstairs to sort through their purchases from when they went shopping that morning. As soon as Terry left the room, Jerry made a beeline for the garbage, dumped the salad in the garbage disposal, and declared he was going out for a burger.

Justin was tempted to go with, but he decided to give the salad a fair chance. "It's not bad," he confessed. "The vegetables are fresh."

"They are. Terry has a greenhouse on the roof," Mr. Hannigan replied. Then he said, "If you add a lot of salt and close your eyes, you can trick yourself into thinking it's vegetable pizza."

His head tilted in consideration, Justin replied, "Thanks, I'll try it."

As the two put their dishes in the sink, Jordan and Max entered the loft from the magic shop. When Justin turned to once again attempt conversation with Jordan...

"Gah!"

Justin yelped and jump back at the exploding noise that boomed right behind him. Then, much to his confusion, confetti began to rain down. "What the...Max!"

Both Max and Jordan were laughing hysterically. An emptied, extra-large party popper was in Max's hand. "You're awesome, Max!" Jordan exclaimed as he high-fived the other fourteen-year-old.

Max grinned. "Thanks, J-man! I'm so going to get more." He paused. "Why didn't I do that when I was in the shop?" Then he shrugged and ran to the stairs.

"Oh so when _he_ asks you to call him the J-man, it's cool!" Justin shouted after him, embarrassed _and_ insulted. In a petty move, he scoffed at amused Jordan. "You're never going to make J-man stick, you know. I tried and gave up after a week."

But Jordan just laughed. "My best bud Tanner calls me that all the time." He then smirked before turning to go upstairs. "All of my friends do, actually."

"Who cares? It's a dorky nickname anyway," Justin retorted. But he continued to glare at Jordan, who laughed all the way to his room.

It was a known fact among the Russos that Alex detested waking up early. Or before noon, for that matter. This was why she wasn't bothering with going to bed.

* * *

"Is it one yet?" Alex whined with another glance at the digital clock next to Julia's bed. They still had another fifteen minutes. "Shoot," she grumbled, then went back to the magazine she'd been reading while sitting in Julia's desk chair. The magazine was even more interesting than usual, since she could see how celebrities she knew were different in this reality. For instance, one article was about Mensa genius London Tipton. _Talk about different_, she thought with an amused smile.

From where she lied down on her bed, Julia replied with slight annoyance in her voice, "For the last time, we're not going at midnight! Dad's a light sleeper who doesn't start snoring for at least another three hours. We can't go until then."

"Three _hours_? That's insane! Why don't we just transport ourselves there now?" Alex pointed out. Senior Assembly was the next day, which meant they had to set up the prank that night. The boxes of poppers were stashed in Julia's closet, ready to go.

"Because Poppy bugged the house to set off an alarm if one of us uses magic after everyone's gone to bed," Julia informed her. At Alex's incredulous look, then younger teen shrugged. "This isn't my first time pranking after-hours."

As she tried to figure out the logic, Alex replied, "So...he won't wake up from the alarm anyway? And what about your mom? And everyone else?"

"Not if we sneak to the alleyway _outside_ the magic shop and transport from there, which is why we need to wait until Dad is sound asleep," Julia reminded her. While Alex nodded in understanding, she added, "We could just get there without magic, but even I don't want to take the subway at that hour. I may be a wizard but I don't go looking for trouble." On that note, she said, "By the way, we have to pop over to Madison's and pick her up."

At the mention of Julia's nervous best friend, Alex remarked, "I'm surprised she's willing to sneak out with us. She was so anxious about the prank that she didn't even help us with the poppers today."

"Oh, she's not. We'll probably have to talk her into it for a good half-hour," Julia said, then glanced at the clock. "Maybe we should risk it and leave at two-thirty."

Alex shrugged. "I'm always up for risking it. I'm also very good at sneaking out. The trick is to not panic about making a noise. That's when you mess up and hit the squeaky step."

"Makes sense," Julia said with a grin. "I'm glad you're helping me, Alex. I was thinking about it, and maybe this is why the termites brought me here."

An eyebrow raised, Alex replied, "The universe meddled in our lives like this just so I could help you with a prank?"

Julia chuckled. "I meant...you know..." She gave her a sheepish grin. "So you could be my role model. I _hope_ I'm just like you in three years."

"Wow," Alex remarked, genuinely surprised. The idea that someone actually _looked up_ to her...that was certainly a new experience. And she had no idea how she felt about it yet. "Um, thanks, I think. So far the only person who's ever considered me a role model is, well...me."

"Now you can add me to that list," Julia replied. She looked at the clock again. "Well, I'm going to try and grab a couple hours of sleep. You can keep the light on, doesn't bother me. 'Night."

"Night," Alex replied, but for once, she was lost in thought. _Someone looks up to _me_, wants to be like _me_. That means I have responsibility now, doesn't it? But how can I have it if I don't want it..._

Alex leaned back in the chair and tried to sort out her feeling on the subject. At least she wouldn't be bored for the next couple of hours.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for all your reviews! A few notes for this chapter:

-Sorry that the Harper section was so much longer. There was a lot to squeeze in to one section. That's the end of the _Friends_ crossover, though. Really it was meant to be more of a cameo.

-Yes, in the original Hannigans script, Tanner calls Jordan "J-man," which if you recall was what Justin wanted to be called in "You Can't Always Get What You Carpet." Naturally, I thought that was hilarious. I'm super happy I had an opportunity to include it here.

-Only two more chapters and the epilogue after this one! Amazing, right? Feels like there should be more left, but I have it all worked out. As a reward for you guys, I'm going to post the MegaUpload link for The Amazing Hannigans script in the author's notes of the epilogue. Kept meaning to include it before now, but at this point I might as well wait.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Finally! I really have to apologize for the delay, I'm so, so sorry about this. But in my defense, it wasn't my fault! My HP laptop got the dreaded White Screen of Death, and after a nearly-two-month-long battle with Geek Squad, I finally got it back yesterday. I would've uploaded on my sister's laptop, but I already had most of this chapter done before the white screen appeared, and I really didn't want to write it over again. Fortunately none of my documents were erased since Geek Squad only had to replace stuff that had nothing to do with my hard drive.

Anyway, I have to say it took me like all day to get back into this story, since it _has_ been over two months. Good thing there are only two chapters left after this (according to the outline I had to consult), otherwise I'm not sure if I would've been able to finish. I'm really not big on resurrecting old stories. On that note, though, I _do_ plan on completing _Duncans vs. Vampires_ too, if any of you are also reading that one. After that...who knows, might take a break from fanfiction since I haven't worked on my script portfolio in a long while.

So, all that said, enjoy the chapter! Again, so sorry you had to wait two months for an update!

* * *

**Chapter 9**

"Ugh, what time is it?" Alex groaned as she and Julia trudged back into the loft.

Julia looked at the digital clock on the kitchen counter. "About six. We have an hour to sleep before we have to get ready for school."

As she yawned yet again, Alex realized just how many times she'd asked that question in the past few hours. Office secretaries usually started arriving at Julia's school around six, so they'd needed to make sure they were done setting up every last party popper before then. Taping two-hundred and fifty poppers to two-hundred fifty seats had taken longer than expected, especially since nervous Madison's hands kept shaking.

Then Julia's words registered in Alex's tired, slow-moving brain. "Wait, _we_?" she exclaimed. "Shoot, I'm going back to sleep. For the rest of the _day_."

"But you have to go with me!" Julia insisted. "We have to get there early to stand guard in front of the auditorium in case the principal or teachers go in before the assembly starts! Otherwise they could sit in one of the seats and ruin the whole thing!" She then put on a very convincing puppy-dog pout. "And don't you want to see the prank go off? You did help me with it. Because you're the best role model ever."

Alex rolled her eyes. "The puppy-dog pout is such an childish technique. I usually prefer angry arguing in my defense." But the "best role model" comment was wearing her down. "Flattery is my fall-back plan though, so yeah, I'll be there."

They were about to go upstairs when another member of the household wandered into the loft from the hallway. Awake for the day, Poppy stood there, completely bewildered. "Julia, Alex? I don't know about you Alex, but frankly I'm surprised my granddaughter knows the world exists before she has to get up for school."

"Poppy!" Julia exclaimed, embarrassed. Her eyes widened as she got an idea. "Well, it's...only one in the morning right now. We were about to go to bed."

The senior citizen gave her a suspicious look. "My alarm went off." He squinted at the clock on the counter. "And doesn't that say..."

Julia dashed over the clock and held it up. "It says one 'o clock, see?" She then quickly put it down so that it was turned away from him. "And, uh...Jordan thought it would be a funny joke to set your alarm ahead five hours. Like, 'hey, wouldn't it be hilarious if Poppy got ready for the day at one in the morning?'"

"Someone needs to teach that boy how to play a joke that's actually funny," Poppy replied, an eyebrow raised.

Though she'd been letting Julia handle the lie, Alex decided it was her time to jump in. "Well, he asked for help from my brother Max," she explained. "No offense, since I know you two are alternate-selves of each other, but _our_ version needs a _little_ help in the prank department. He once tried to get _me_ by trashing _his_ stuff."

"Ah, that explains it. Good night girls," Poppy replied, then yawned as he shuffled back to his bedroom.

When they heard Poppy close his door behind him, Alex and Julia quietly laughed. "That was awesome!" Alex whispered. "Not only did you get him to go back to bed, you got your brother in trouble at the same time!"

"I know, right?" Julia replied through her laughter. "You can tell Poppy was still a little tired. He never would've bought it otherwise, especially when I blamed Jordan!"

Alex let out a sigh. "You know, sometimes I got Justin in trouble. But it was usually so much more satisfying to just mess with his life."

They began to head upstairs as Julia asked, "What do you mean?"

"Oh, little things. Like when I was your age, I made friends with _his_ friends. Drove him crazy," Alex said while they got to the upstairs hallway. "More recently, I entered this comic book contest and won, just so he would freak out when we had to work together. It helps having a brother who freaks out so easily..."

Since they'd been talking as they walked, Alex hadn't noticed Justin emerge from his room, his arms crossed. "Alex!"

"Uh, hi Justin! We were just talking about Max!" Alex lied, but even while she said it, she knew he wasn't going to buy it.

Sure enough, Justin raised an eyebrow at her. "_Right_. Alex, what are you doing up at this hour? I don't think you've ever been conscious before the sun rose. And...why are you in regular clothes instead of pajamas?"

_Round two, here we go_, Alex thought with a frustrated frown. "Um...well, Julia and I weren't tired, so we talked a long time and ended up falling asleep in our clothes. We just went downstairs now to...get something to drink and go back to bed."

His eyebrow still raised, Justin argued, "So, wait...you _woke up mid-sleep to get a drink of water_? Alex, you don't open your eyes until you have to get ready for school. And even then..."

"Well, uh, Julia woke me when _she_ was getting a drink of water, and that made me thirsty, so I went with her," Alex said as she tried not to wince. It was a weak excuse even to her. Both parts of that sentence were suspicious, since she would have ordered Julia to bring up two glasses of water, then went back to sleep. And as for the other part...

"Uh huh. Julia must have been pretty noisy to wake _you_ up," Justin retorted, still skeptical. "Dad and I have watched entire baseball games while you slept on the couch."

Alex shrugged. "I guess in this reality, I'm a light sleeper." Then the two girls brushed past him and went back to bed, before he could question them any further.

* * *

His sister and Julia's conversation had woken Justin up, so even after they went sleep, he found that he couldn't do the same. The girls had a decent excuse for being awake, but every instinct in his body said it was just that, an _excuse_. There was no way, even if Julia had disturbed Alex's sleep, his sister would have actually _gotten out of bed_ and _gone downstairs_. Even if Alex was dying of thirst, she would sooner take the shorter route to the bathroom and put her head under the tap than drag herself all the way to the kitchen. Or at the very least ordered Julia to bring back another glass of water.

So why was she _really_ awake and in the loft at six a.m.? Had to be big. Not much could get Alex Russo out of bed before ten or so.

Since he wasn't going to sleep anyway, Justin decided to just get ready for the day. At least at this hour he could use the shower first. But while Justin took out a new pair of jeans and t-shirt, which his mother had bought while shopping for clothes the family could wear during their unexpected stay, his roommate sat up and glared. Embarrassed Justin gave him an apologetic frown. "Sorry! Couldn't go back to sleep. Our sisters are up to something."

"Really?" Jordan asked with mild curiosity, though there was still some sleepy irritation. "How do you know?"

"They were going up to their rooms about...ten minutes ago," Justin replied.

_That_ got a reaction out of Jordan. "Wow, really? Yeah, something's definitely up." After another second of thought, he shrugged. "Oh well, guess I'll find out when Julia's scheme, whatever it is, blows up in her face."

"Wait..._what_?"

Jordan nearly fell out of bed at Justin's outraged response. "Dude, what's your _problem_?" he exclaimed as he scrambled to his feet.

"That's just..._wrong_! You're her brother! You're supposed to try and stop her before she does something stupid, then save her butt when she does it anyway!" Justin ranted. He just couldn't imagine how their sense of brotherly duty could be so different. "It's like you don't even _care_."

Stunned, and more than a little uncomfortable, Jordan lowered his eyes. "I _care_. It's just not the same as you and your sister. You're her big brother. I'm her twin."

"That doesn't _matter_!" Justin nearly yelled. He was actually getting a little angry. It was one thing for Jordan to be an uncaring jerk towards strangers, but his _sister_? "You still have to watch out for her! You're her _brother_!"

"Repeating 'you're her brother' isn't going to do anything," Jordan retorted defensively.

"_You're her brother_," Justin repeated, increased intensity with each shout. "_You're her brother. You're her brother!_"

Jordan rolled his eyes. "_Fine_! What am I supposed to do anyway? I don't even know what she's up to!"

"Well, think! Has she said anything weird in the last few weeks, and when you asked why, she changed the subject? Alex _always_ does that when she's plotting something," Justin explained. He was still amazed that Jordan had never tried to bust his sister before. It just seemed so..._weird_ to Justin.

"I don't know...I don't really pay attention to what she says!" Jordan exclaimed while he began to pace the floor by his bed. "It's usually the other way around. Sure, she plays pranks, but I'm generally the one trying to get out of chores, or pointing the accusing finger at her when really _I_ wasn't watching the shop. She actually got in trouble once for trying to catch me when I transported to a basketball game during a family obligation."

All through Jordan's explanation, Justin just stared at him with wide eyes. "Wait, so, let me get this straight..." he said as his mind processed the odd family dynamics. "The good kid in your family, isn't actually the good kid. And the so-called bad kid is constantly trying to bust the good kid for all the bad stuff he does."

Jordan shrugged. "Pretty much."

"That's so _messed up_!"

"A little, maybe. But aren't all families messed up?"

Justin's shoulders sagged. "Can't argue with that," he muttered. "Okay, whatever. Look, are you sure you don't remember anything?"

After a few seconds, Jordan's eyes widened. "She asked me when Senior Assembly was! I remember thinking that was weird! And it's today, first period!"

"So Julia must be playing a prank at the assembly..." Justin thought aloud.

Almost comically, the boys' eyes widened when they made the connection. "The party poppers!" they exclaimed in unison. Then they both dashed out the door so they could go to school and check out the school auditorium...

...only to return five seconds later. "School doesn't open for another hour," Jordan realized. "...and I'm still in my boxers. Meet you downstairs in a little while?"

Justin nodded as he went to take a shower. "Sounds good."

* * *

_How can I pretend nothing's wrong when I'm freaking out inside?_

That was one of Harper's many panicked thoughts as she managed to get ready for school, like she did every other day. But that morning, she was totally alone. She didn't have to make sure Alex actually woke up, didn't have to fight for the bathroom, didn't have to hope there was some of the good cereal left by the time she reached the kitchen. The entire loft was silent other than any sounds she happened to make.

As she ate her breakfast at the dining area table, she reflected on how little progress she'd made so far. Research on magical termites hadn't been especially helpful, other than learning of all the possible places or time periods where the Russos could've ended up, which didn't make her feel any better. And she hadn't gotten word from Uncle Kelbo about removing that plastic wall.

So she still had no idea when, or if, the Russos would return. And it terrified her. But she valued her perfect attendance, so staying home wasn't an option.

With a long sigh, Harper washed her dishes and made her way downstairs. She glanced at freezer door, kept open by the same chair. Since she had a few extra minutes, she decided to go clean up at least some of the mess. The chore might calm her down before she had to be around other people.

When she reached the lair, she put her backpack down on the sofa. Then she gasped. There was a note taped to the wall! _Maybe it's from the Russos somehow!_ She ran to the wall, ripped the note off, and read it in about a second.

"'_The house is infested with magical termites_...'" Harper read aloud. "'...g_et out as soon as possible...we're staying with alternate versions of ourselves...We'll be back tomorrow, Monday, around five o'clock or so if there's anything you need to tell us. Leave a message if you won't be at the portal.'"_

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed happily. She could contact the Russos! Which meant she could give them Uncle Kelbo's spell!

She'd have to leave them a note though, if she had to leave the building. While she mostly hung out with Alex, she _did _have a few friends...well, more like close acquaintances...at school who would take her in for the night. She'd just tell them the same story, that the Russos had to leave suddenly for a family emergency.

Too excited to wait until she got home, she grabbed a nearby pen and notebook so she could write her reply message.

_Dear Russo Family,_

_I'm so glad you're okay, I've been really worried about everyone! I've contacted Uncle Kelbo, and he told me all about magical termites (well, sort of...I had to do some research myself). I'm going to stay at a friend's house until you get back._

_Which shouldn't be long, since Uncle Kelbo told me about a spell that should get you guys home. He used it when we ended up in Central Perk (yes, the one from Friends). He says it's a new spell that wizards use to travel between realities. But it requires full wizard magic. I hope you've met one wherever you are. Here's the spell, just in case. Luckily it was easy to remember._

_"We don't want to stay here anymore, open up this reality's door: Waverly Place Sub Station, [insert full date here]." _

_Good luck!_

_From, _

_Harper_

Satisfied with the note, she taped it to the wall. Then she pumped her fist in victory. "Yes!" she exclaimed while she did a happy dance. "They're coming home...oh yeah..." She happened to glance at the clock on the wall. "Oh shoot, I'm going to be late!" Making sure to grab her backpack, she ran out of the lair, hoping one of her acquaintances would take her in for the night.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

At about 7:15 a.m., Justin and Jordan arrived at Tribeca Prep. It was pretty much the Tribeca Prep that Justin knew, much to his relief. Though a quick glance at a sports poster on the wall showed that the school mascot was the Tribeca _Tiger_. Had to be much less embarrassing than a turkey. Far less gobble-noises at games, for one thing.

Shaking his head, Justin focused on their mission. The hallways were empty since classes didn't start for another hour. They had no trouble getting in and making a beeline for the auditorium, where they both suspected the girls would be standing guard. Much to all of the parents' surprise, Julia and Alex had bolted out of the loft before anyone else even sat down to breakfast. That was the boys' cue to go after them. Of course they'd waited until breakfast was over, so the girls wouldn't get suspicious.

"Your auditorium is in the same place, right? Down that hallway?" Justin asked as he pointed in the general direction he was talking about.

"Yup," Jordan grumbled, then let out a mighty yawn. "Look, can't you just do this on your own? I want to catch a little more sleep in the library before my friends get here."

The comment made Justin stop in the middle of the hallway and glare at startled Jordan. "You really don't care at all, do you?" Justin spat. As a protective big brother himself, he simply couldn't understand Jordan's attitude. "Your sister might be getting herself suspended, and you just don't care."

Jordan let out an exasperated sigh. "Despite being your alternate self, I'm nothing like you, okay? I've got my own stuff going on. I'm on the basketball team, I'm Freshman Representative for the Student Council, not to mention a pretty active social life. And Julia can do whatever she wants. I'm not her parent."

"Student Council? Well, that's one thing we have in common, at least," Justin remarked. Clearly, he wasn't going to knock any sense into Jordan on the subject of his sister. But he'd get the younger teen to care about busting the prank _somehow_, just for the principle. "Then as a Student Council member, you should be worried. What if word gets around school that you knew about the prank, but didn't bother with stopping it? Sure, kids might think it's cool...but I doubt the Council moderator will."

Finally, Jordan paused, realizing that he could get in trouble for being an inadvertent accomplice. "You wouldn't tell. You don't even go to this school."

"You're Julia's brother. People would point fingers at you anyway," Justin assured him. "Trust me, I've been there."

After a long moment, Jordan rolled his eyes. "_Fine_, whatever, I'm in."

"Your enthusiasm is inspiring," Justin deadpanned. They rounded a corner, and Justin finally caught sight of the auditorium. Sure enough, Julia and his sister were standing guard out front, though they were acting like they were just casually hanging out before classes. They weren't giving a believable performance though, as they kept looking towards the auditorium double-doors. A smug smirk on his face, Justin walked up to the startled pranksters. "'Morning, girls," he greeted, then feigned shock. "_Alex_? But what are you doing at a school at this early hour? You rarely get to your own classes before ten."

Again, Jordan rolled his eyes. "I'm not awake enough to play games, Justin." He then glared at his sister. "I know what you're up to. Stop it now or I'll tell."

"What do you care?" Julia asked, honestly curious. "Doesn't have anything to do with you. I-I mean, if I was up to something, it wouldn't have anything to do with you."

"I'm a Student Council rep, remember? I could get in trouble if people think I knew about the prank because you're my sister," Jordan easily explained, like he'd thought of the concept himself. He then paused when he caught sight of someone approaching. He then smirked at his sister. "Well, looks like you won't have a choice now."

Surprised, Justin looked up at the approaching teacher. His eyes widened. He _knew_ that teacher. On instinct, he sputtered, "G-Good morning, M-Mr. Laritate."

* * *

_I am _so_ busted._

Nervous Julia glanced between her vice principal and her brother, wondering if Jordan was really going to rat her out. Despite Alex's assurances, she still wasn't quite sure what the maximum punishment could be for her prank. Her only consolation was that chances were, Jordan didn't even know exactly what she and Alex had planned, so even if he wanted to tell Mr. Laritate how to stop the prank, he couldn't.

"Good morning, Mr. Laritate," Julia greeted in unison with Alex and Jordan.

"Good morning Jordan, Julia," the vice principal greeted, then turned to the two strangers and tipped his cowboy hat. "And who are these fine cowpoke? Judging by their remarkable similarities to you two, my guess is visiting older cousins."

Julia jumped at the readily available excuse. "Yes, yes they are! Alex and Justin Russo. They're, uh, seniors thinking of moving here, so they wanted to see the school."

"In that case, welcome to the homestead we call Tribeca Prep," Mr. Laritate said warmly. "Just inform the main office of your presence when it opens."

Jordan nodded. "Of course, Mr. Laritate. But actually, I wanted to talk to you about the Senior Assembly..."

"Oh, did you decide to attend after all? Student Council members are welcome. Not to mention you get to cut class," he added with a wink.

"Uh, thanks, but I have a test that period," Jordan assured him. "I meant to say you should check out the auditorium." He glanced at Julia. "I heard there might be a prank going down."

Mr. Laritate's brow wrinkled with concern. "Oh my, that would be quite a dust storm to deal with, wouldn't it? We had someone prank the Senior Assembly a few years ago."

Surprised, Julia anxiously replied, "W-What happened to her? Or him?"

"They rigged a bucket full of indiscernible slime over the speaker's podium. You can guess the rest," Mr. Laritate answered with a frown.

But both Julia and Alex were trying that hardest not to laugh. "A classic! Never done it with slime though, I should try that," Alex whispered to Julia, who nodded in agreement.

"So, uh, what happened to them?" Justin asked.

"It was rather unfortunate, actually," Mr. Laritate explained. "The slime-covered victim slipped off the stage and broke her leg. The pranksters were all suspended, not sure for how many months."

"_Months_?" Julia squeaked. Her prank couldn't cause anyone to break a leg...but if it somehow caused injury, that same punishment could happen to her. And she'd fail the school year after being absent for that long. Even Alex seemed concerned, which just made Julia more nervous.

On that note, she decided she would abort the prank. Sure, she felt like she was chickening out, but feeling cowardly was better than being suspended. Besides, no one else knew what she'd been planning, so she wouldn't have to face any public humiliation. "Well, Mr. Laritate, I wouldn't worry," she said, with a meaningful glance at her brother. "I don't know what rumors Jordan's talking about, because _I_ haven't heard any of them. This year's Senior Assembly should go off perfectly."

She held her breath when Jordan didn't agree right away. His expression was contemplative, and she wondered if even after what she'd said, he would still bust her somehow. And to be honest, Julia couldn't blame him. She'd tried to get him in trouble plenty of times, and if she was in his position, she would undoubtedly sing like a canary without a second's hesitation.

_Suspension might not be too bad. I'll get to miss school, hang out at home. Of course I won't be able to go anywhere since I'll be grounded for the rest of my life. But at least it'll give me a chance to catch up on any shows I missed -_

"She's right, Mr. Laritate. I think I mixed up the rumors. You might want to keep an extra eye on the _Junior_ Assembly though."

_Wait, what?_

While Julia stared at her twin in complete shock, Jordan continued, "Yeah, um, no problems here. I'll check out the auditorium though and let you know if I find anything."

"Thanks, Hannigan. I can always count on you to hold down the ranch," Mr. Laritate said happily. "Enjoy your day at Tribeca Prep, Alex and Justin. Hope you feel welcome here."

When he turned the corner, Alex laughed. "Well, I guess Mr. Laritate's love of all things Western will never change, no matter what reality we're in." She then glanced at Julia. "So, prank's off?" Julia nodded, so Alex took out her wand. "All right, I'm going back to bed. Later." That said, she flashed out.

Sensing that the twins needed to talk, Justin blurted, "Yeah, um, I'm going to go see if the cafeteria's the same! Here's hoping they still serve breakfast in this reality, I never did finish that smoothie your mom made." He then ran in the direction of the cafeteria.

Suddenly uncomfortable, Julia crossed her arms. "So, uh...I guess I should give you a pretty big thank you."

"Yeah, you should," Jordan teased. At her frown, he sighed. "Don't mention it. You would've done the same for me."

Julia grinned. "I probably wouldn't have. Thanks. I owe you one."

"Yup, you do," Jordan joked again. He then glanced at the auditorium doors. "So...are you going to get rid of those poppers?"

"Don't worry, I will. We had to put them in by hand, but it shouldn't be too hard to make them disappear with magic," Julia assured him. "But I _could_ use some help thinking of the spell..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Jordan was running down the hallway away from her. Though at first upset, she reluctantly grumbled, "Okay, fair enough."

* * *

Though he headed towards the cafeteria to get a drink before the seats were filled with the typical morning crowd, Jordan made a mental note to check the auditorium later. Sure, Julia had seemed sincere, but he wouldn't put it past her to leave the prank anyway. _Justin would definitely have something to say about that,_ he thought. _He'd probably tell me to trust her. Although given what his sister is like, maybe "trust" isn't in Justin's definition of the perfect brother._

As much as he _really_ hated to admit it, his alternate-self's lectures about being a good brother had gotten through to Jordan, at least a little bit. Maybe he was slightly self-involved, but he was a teenage boy. He wasn't expected to watch out for his sister all the time. So it wasn't really his fault that he'd never felt the need to do so.

Still...he did wish that he and Julia got along better. He didn't expect them to be best friends of course, but it would be nice if he could confide in her once in a while. Whenever he said one word to her, he had to worry about how she'd eventually use it against him. They were always competing, not just for their powers, but also for their parents' favor and attention. Their parents weren't neglectful, but the need to be better than her had been there longer than he could remember.

At least covering for her that morning might help improve their relationship, if just a little bit. Anything was better than their current reluctant tolerance of one another. Maybe if he did something nice for her, she'd return the favor, and the cycle would continue until they could be friends. Or at least treat each other civilly. And _then_, dare he think it, they could join forces. He would actually feel bad for their parents and Poppy when that day happened, if it ever did.

Lost in thought on his way to the cafeteria line, Jordan almost walked right by Justin, who was eating a bagel. Jordan's instinct was to just keep on walking, but since the two had their share of arguments over the past couple days, he decided to fill the older teen in. "Hey," Jordan greeted as he walked over to Justin's table, but didn't sit down. His mouth full of bagel, Justin paused to look up in acknowledgment. "So, uh, Julia's going to get rid of the prank. She mentioned something about coming up with a spell."

Concerned, Justin swallowed quickly so he could ask, "Are you sure that's a good idea? You should've stayed to make sure she got it right."

"Hey, I saved her from getting suspended. I did my part," Jordan retorted, then sighed. "I'll check on her to make sure everything's sorted out before first period."

Justin nodded with approval. "See, now doesn't that feel good, being a good brother?"

The sarcastic side of him wanted to retort with some witty comment, but Jordan suppressed it. But he wouldn't give Justin the satisfaction of knowing just how much Jordan's outlook had changed. "I guess. I mean, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if Julia and I got along once in a while. She'd annoy me a lot less."

"That's the truth," Justin said with a chuckle. He then lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "And the kicker is, every time you bail her out of trouble, she owes you that much more."

Jordan could definitely get on board with _that_ line of thinking. All he had to do was make sure that he didn't need her help more than she needed his...which, he had to admit, would be much harder than it sounded. Again, he didn't want Justin to know that. "Yeah, I could definitely get used to that," he replied instead.

Since he realized that Jordan was still standing, Justin pointed to the seat across from him. "You can sit there if you want." He then smirked. "I promise I'll head home right after breakfast so none of your friends see you with a 'dork.'"

"Nah, it's okay," Jordan said with an embarrassed, apologetic expression. Even though there was no doubt that Justin had some geeky qualities, Jordan _had_ been a little too quick to judge. "Hang out here as long as you want. Though if you don't mind, I'm just going to grab a bottle of water...and find somewhere to take a nap." Fortunately, Justin understood, and Jordan ran for the cafeteria line.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"It's five o'clock. Where are they?"Harper wondered aloud while she paced back and forth in the lair. After a whole day of worrying, she didn't think she'd be able to stand it if the Russos were more than a minute late.

From where he relaxed on the couch, Kelbo said, "Hey, it's inter-reality travel. Who knows what the time difference is? Five o'clock their time could be five in the morning...two weeks from now."

Harper shook her head. "No...I mean, they were able to give me a note, weren't they? That has to mean our timezones are the same."

While at first Harper had every intention of leaving the note, it occurred to her that she should make every effort she could to actually talk with whichever Russo would be at the portal to get her reply. Too scared to go back to the Russo's building alone, she'd waited until Kelbo could pop in. At first she'd been afraid that she'd have to leave a note anyway if she never heard back from Kelbo. Fortunately he'd received her message and appeared before her about ten minutes after she called from outside the Sub Station.

However, she was starting to regret that decision. Kelbo had plans in an hour and was eager to get going."Well, I sure hope so, because I've got money on a unicorn race and you have to be there to collect - "

"Harper, you there?" His face in one of the portal panels, Justin tried to see as far into the lair as he could. "Harper?"

More relieved than she'd ever been in her life, Harper ran to the blocked portal door. "Justin! I'm so glad you're okay! Is Alex with you?" Kelbo also got up from the couch so he could join in the conversation.

Surprised, Justin asked, "Uncle Kelbo? What are you doing here?"

"Harper called me in just in case the termites acted up again," Kelbo explained. "Hey, I'm curious. Which reality did you end up in?"

Justin sighed. "It's a long story. Look, um...hey, what's this?" he asked when he spotted the note taped to the plastic wall. Harper quickly explained her reasoning for it as he scanned the message.

His face lit up with happiness when he realized just what the spell meant. "Oh my gosh, this spell can get us home!" He then turned to someone Harper couldn't see. "Poppy, do you think you'll be able to cast it? We need a full wizard."

"Poppy? Who's..." Harper trailed off when an old man who looked like he could be Max's grandfather moved into view and looked at the note. "_Okay_ then," she remarked, but decided to save her questions for when this whole ordeal had been resolved.

As he looked over the spell, Poppy nodded. "Yeah, definitely. Might take me a few minutes to learn it but that shouldn't be a problem."

"_What_? I've never even heard of that spell!" Jerry exclaimed, a little upset. "I feel so out of the loop." He stood partially behind his son, so Harper couldn't see him clearly.

"Well, I guess you don't need me. Let me know how everything turns out," Kelbo put in quickly, then flashed out.

Though he raised an eyebrow, Justin otherwise didn't comment on his uncle's uncaring behavior. "Anyway, we'll go back to the loft and tell everyone the good news. Hopefully we'll be home within the hour."

"Great! I'll be here!" Harper assured him. When the Russos and Poppy were no longer visible, Harper turned to go call the friend she'd told to be on standby in case she ended up needing a place to stay, and tell her thanks but the favor wouldn't be needed. However, she paused with fright when she realized that her only way back to this reality in the event of a termite attack, aka Kelbo, was no longer there. Too scared to move, Harper chose to make the best out of the situation. She grabbed a notebook off the desk and decided to sketch a dress design until the Russos got home.

* * *

Justin was on top of the world when he, his father and Poppy got back to the Hannigans' loft. "We're going home!" he announced while he triumphantly held up Harper's note with the spell on it. "Harper saved us! Well, it's Uncle Kelbo's spell, but she's the one who passed it on!"

Shocked, all of the Russos and Hannigans gathered around to see how the good news was possible. "There's a spell?" Alex asked in disbelief. "Dad said there wasn't."

"I'm out of the loop," Jerry snapped, apparently still sensitive about the issue.

With a sigh of impatience, Justin continued, "It's a new spell Uncle Kelbo uses. Once Poppy learns it, we can leave."

"Oh, thank goodness!" Theresa exclaimed as she hugged her husband. "We're really going home, I can't believe it!"

At first happy for the Russos, Terry frowned. "Shoot, I never got a chance to make you my Meatless Meatloaf. I'll go write down the recipe for you," she said as she went into the kitchen to do just that.

The next half hour was chaos as the Russos went to pack the clothes they'd acquired during their stay, and put away their makeshift beds. While Justin threw his spare outfit in a cheap duffel bag he'd zapped up, Jordan wandered in. "Hey. Mom sent me in to tell you that you don't have to put away the air mattress if you want, my dad will do it later," he offered.

But Justin snapped his fingers, and the mattress along with its sheets was neatly folded up. "It's okay, I've got it."

"Wow, you didn't even use a spell!" Jordan blurted.

Flattered, Justin shrugged. "It's what happens when you practice. I'm sure you'll be able to do it too in a few years."

"Huh, good to know," Jordan replied. He paused awkwardly, not sure whether he should leave. "Uh, I guess you don't need anything else?"

Justin nodded. "Yeah, pretty much." He threw the duffel bag over his shoulder, then looked around the room to make sure he hadn't left anything. As much as Justin wanted to just go downstairs and leave, he knew he couldn't without saying a proper good-bye. "So, I guess this is it," he said. He almost winced at the cliché.

"Yeah," Jordan agreed. He casually stuck out his hand. "Good to meet you. I guess you're not a _total_ dork."

As he shook Jordan's hand, Justin had to laugh at the remark. "Same to you," he teased. Of course the two had their differences, but Justin hoped he'd taught his alternate self a few things about what it meant to be a good brother. He didn't expect that the Hannigan family dynamic would totally change, but even a small step towards a better sibling relationship would make this whole trip worth it.

The two put the sheets in the hall closet, then they headed towards the stairs, the duffel bag still over Justin's shoulder. "By the way, here's a piece of friendly advice," Jordan said. "If _your_ mom makes _my_ mom's 'meat' loaf, don't eat it."

"Don't worry, I'm sure my mom won't even make the recipe anyway," Justin assured him with a chuckle.

* * *

Even though she'd only known Julia for two days, Alex would definitely miss the young troublemaker. She loved having a partner in crime for once. While pranking and driving her brothers nuts was always fun, it could be a lonely hobby at times. "So, what are you going to do now?" Alex asked casually while she threw her other outfit into a cloth bag that Julia had given her. "Since this prank didn't work out. Need ideas for your next one? I've got lots of them."

From where she was sitting on the edge of her bed, Julia laughed. "No, that's never a problem for me. But...I don't know, I think I'm going to cool it with pranks. Just for now, of course."

"Ah, close-call nerves. I used to get those too," Alex assured her. "Don't worry, those go away with practice." When she first started pranking, she would often take a break whenever she almost got in serious trouble. After a while she just stopped caring and did what she wanted anyway. But she doubted Julia would be up to that level yet, nor would it be advice given by a good role model, so she left that information out. _She _is_ supposed to be me,_ Alex thought. _She'll figure it out on her own eventually._

Julia grinned. "I'm sure it will. For now, though, I'll wait until Jordan isn't paying attention." She paused. "I still can't believe he covered for me."

"Yeah. Sometimes brothers can surprise you," Alex said. She smiled, thinking of all the times Justin had gotten her out of trouble. After getting an idea of how Jordan and Julia were, she was even more grateful that she had someone watching out for her. Even if he did get on her nerves like _all_ the time.

When Alex threw her last belonging into the cloth bag, Julia frowned. "So, you're really leaving. And I'll never see you again."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Alex teased. "We're wizards, aren't we? We can just use that weird mall thing and see each other any time."

"I guess. But Dad said Jordan and I aren't allowed," Julia reminded her.

With a dismissive wave of her hand, Alex said, "_He_ said _you_ weren't allowed. My dad never said anything to me. His mistake." They both laughed as Alex looked around the room again to make sure she hadn't left anything behind. Satisfied, she turned back to Julia. "Well, it was awesome meeting you, kid. And trust me, I never say that."

"Same to you," Julia said. Then she ran to give Alex a hug.

Surprised, Alex returned it for a brief instant, then broke away. "So, uh, keep in touch, all right? I think you can download an inter-reality communication app on your wand."

"Really? I'm so doing that! What's your wand number?" Julia asked eagerly. The two exchanged contact information, including Wiz Web email just in case one of them found an inter-reality program for the Wizard Computer too.

Before they went downstairs, Julia said, "Wait, Alex...I just want to thank you. You know, for helping me and everything."

Alex hesitated for a moment, not used to the sensation. Really, when was the last time anyone ever thanked _her_? "Wow, uh...you're welcome. And thank you too, I guess. I've never been someone else's role model before."

After Julia replied with a grateful smile, the two reluctantly went downstairs, comforted knowing they would see each other again.

* * *

A/N: Still one more chapter to go, the epilogue. But since you made it this far, here's the link to the Amazing Hannigans script. Ignore the spaces of course, that's just so won't delete it.

megaupload . com/?d=C2IF6796


	12. Epilogue

A/N: Thank you to all my reviewers and readers for sticking with this story! So happy you enjoyed it! For those who missed it, the Amazing Hannigans script link is at the bottom of chapter eleven.

* * *

**Epilogue**

Their adventure was over.

Alex and her family gathered one last time in the Hannigans' common area, their bags over their shoulders, ready for Poppy to cast the spell. Both family said their good-byes, promising to call via wand and visit every once in a while.

"What's that for?" Alex asked, after she'd seen Poppy give Max a pen.

"It's a magic trick," Max explained. "Makes it look like you can float stuff. Now that Julia showed me how to turn it on, I'm _going_ to learn how to use it. Something tells me it might take a while though."

_No kidding_, Alex thought with a chuckle. She had no idea how the pen worked herself, but Max wasn't a fast learner. "Yeah, good luck with that."

"Thanks. I wanted the handcuffs too, but for some reason Poppy said that didn't seem like a good idea," Max replied.

As Alex laughed again, Poppy clapped his hands. "All right everyone, we can't put this off forever. Let's do this." When the teens whined in response, he added, "_Now."_

The group separated into their respective families. Good-byes were said one more time, then finally Poppy held his titanium wand out towards them and chanted, "_They__ don't want to stay here anymore, open up this reality's door: Waverly Place Sub Station, June 4, 2010."_

In anticipation of the spell taking effect. Alex closed her eyes. When she opened them, she was in her family's restaurant. She and her family let out a collective sigh of relief.

"So good to be home!" Theresa exclaimed, then checked the clock on the wall. "Hey, it's about dinner time, and I'm craving something fattening. Enchiladas good for everyone?" When they all gladly nodded in agreement, she headed upstairs, only to run into Harper. "Oh, hi Harper! Thank you so much for helping us!"

Meanwhile, Harper was in shock from happiness. "Oh my gosh, you're back! You're all back!" she shouted as she hugged Theresa, then ran down the stairs to greet the other Russos. "We should probably get out of here. Doesn't the building still have termites?"

While the kids were concerned, Jerry shook his head. "I don't think so. Termites usually move on within forty-eight hours. Have there been any incidents today?"

"Well, I had school, but there weren't as far as I know," Harper answered.

Jerry smiled. "Then we should be fine. Thank goodness. After what we just went through, all I want to do is sit down and relax on my own couch."

"Well, I'm so glad you're all okay," Harper said. "But..._where did you go?_"

"That's a _very_ long story," Alex replied, then grinned. "A story you would, say, tell while sharing a piece of pre-dinner cake?"

Harper laughed. "I already cut pieces for everyone, it's waiting for you upstairs."

"Harper, have I mentioned how much I missed you?" Alex said, happy she would _finally _be getting some icing_._ She threw an arm around her best friend's shoulders, and the group went upstairs for their dessert before dinner.


End file.
